The talk of the town today is the scandalous interview given by Prosecutor Vilma Ruskoska for TV24 on Tuesday evening. The main remaining Zaev loyalist among high profile prosecutors, who was famously used to bring terrorism charges against the opposition members of Parliament Zaev needed in his push to rename Macedonia, was confused during the interview, took lengthy pauses to gather her thoughts, threatened journalists and opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski with prosecution and clearly stated that she is uncomfortable filing charges against privileged people.
Even the journalist Mladen Cadikovski, who is an outspoken supporter of the Zaev Government, was stupefied by Ruskoska’s answers at times.
What do you mean you won’t order their phones seized?, he asked the prosecutor, as she replied with solid 10 seconds of confused silence, when asked about the leaking of testimonies from her organized crime OJO office. The testimonies about the major racketeering scandal are believed to contain allegations that top politicians from the Zaev regime were involved in the extortion of millions from businessmen. Excerpts were published by the Infomax news site, and opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski said that he also possesses the testimonies and will make them public if OJO continues to cover up the scandal.
Ruskoska threatened to interrogate Mickoski and Infomax journalist Aleksandar Mitovski, who already faces criminal charges. But she insisted that she will not order an investigation into OJO prosecutors who likely leaked the files.
So you are going after the messenger but not the mole. Nobody is looking for the mole, but let’s burn the messenger, right?, Cadikovski asked Ruskoska about her readiness to violate the freedom of information and to go after the opposition leader, as she refuses to inconvenience her own colleagues as she insisted she will not allow that their phones are examined in an internal investigation to find the “mole”. “We can’t take their phones, the procedure would take months, they haven’t been charged yet. Many people were in contact with the file and it would cause them horrible inconvenience. The journalist earned the charge”, Ruskoska replied in a comment which was clearly understood by the audience and by the journalist as well as admission that she is not allowed to press charges freely, including at high level politicians from the ruling majority. “But what is your job then?”, Cadikovski asked as Ruskoska explained, after another tense period of silence, that she can’t just file additional criminal charges.
An Infomax crew waited for Ruskoska following the interview and tried to ask her to elaborate on her allegations against the “messenger” but she sped off at the sight of the camera.
I have earned the charges against me because I published evidence how top Government officials had their hands in the Louis Vuitton bag filled with money, Ruskoska says. Because I published material which is of PARTICULARLY HIGH public interest. I earned the charges because I revealed that the Government which was supposed to bring us to the European Union is deeply corrupt. I earned my charges and not Zaev or Sekerinska or Dimitrov, Mitovski wrote following Ruskoska’s interview.
As the person who did spring the case against Katica Janeva – the other top level prosecutor loyal to Zoran Zaev, Ruskoska made one new revelation during the interview. She confirmed that there is a photograph of Katica Janeva with a pile of money, estimated at 50.000 EUR. The photo has been rumored to be in the “ghetto style” similar to the antics seen in rap videos, and her statement comes after it was revealed that Janeva also had a gold plated Louis Vuitton bag with her initials.
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