Mickski asked for a system restart after a controversial sentence for a young victim crash

The Macedonian Judicial Council will review the verdict imposed by a judge from Tetovo to a man who overtook a 22-year-old woman after the intervention of Prime Minister Christian Mickski due to a wave of outrage over the judge’s decision.

Almost a month after the fire with 61 casualties in cobs, after the pressure from the unions for the minimum wage and the opposition – to the pollution of the river near Bulgaria, Mickski reacted sharply, calling for the Judicial Council to deal with the case and made calls for a « restart of the system ». The anger grew after the news that the judge, Elvedin Ferrati, was the same, accused of having removed his university grades.

The case is also a test of the sensitivity of Macedonian society, increased after the tragedy in Kochani and the expectations for comprehensive reforms. The sentence of two years, issued in the primary court in Tetovo, was reacted by both the family and influential public figures.

There was also a reaction from Justice Minister Igor Filkov, who explained that although he did not dare to comment on a court sentence, he could talk about the public reaction to her. In addition, the low confidence of the Macedonians in the judiciary must be taken into account, he continued.

The sentence initially imposed on the perpetrator was low: three years and six months for the driver Mansour Payazites, who overtook 22-year-old Theodora Ristevska. The Court of Appeal reduced her to two years, but in the end the Supreme Court overturned both sentences and the case began again.

Falsification

The allegations were not media, but came from the State Education Inspectorate, which at the insistence of an anti -corruption committee in December 2023 made an inspection of candidates who graduated from the Academy of Judges and Prosecutors. At the University of Tetan, the Inspectorate, after data on irregularities, found corrected estimates.

« It is absolutely inadmissible, » said Filkov, asked by a journalist, is a judge criticized for the suspicion of having remodel the assessments to give justice.

At the same time, the prosecutor’s office stated that he would not investigate Judge Ferrati, as it was found that the change in his grades was because he held some exams again. The prosecutor’s office was targeted at the fire in Kochani, as the head of Lupcho Kotsevski was appointed at the time of the social democrats now in the opposition. However, Kotsevski remains the post after the fire and the investigation, headed personally by him, prompted Mitskoski to at least temporarily freeze the procedure for its removal.

Mickoski’s reaction

The most fierce was the prime minister’s reaction. Mickoski continued the approach of the fire in Kochani when he presented the measures of the state as the battle of the honest against the dishonest. This is not a party struggle, he told his call to the Judicial Council, but a battle for truth, responsibility and justice. « Fighting between people and Nehora. And people must win. »

Mickoski showed up disgusted with the sentence. « It’s not justice, it’s a complete failure of the system, » he said, asking for review.

« I know that someone will be angry with me and there will be such spoons that will criticize me after what I say, but I publicly insist on the court council to check the work of this judge and to consider this sentence once more, » said the Prime Minister of the founding session of the interdepartmental body for the coordination of the activity against corruption.