Velibor Manev’s hearing about the murder of Vanja and Pance

The hearing of Velibor Manev, one of the defendants for the double murder of Vanja Gjorcevska and Pance Zezhovski, ends in the Basic Criminal Court today, after which he is expected to continue testifying to Bore Videvski. At today’s hearing, Manev, in answers to court questions, generally reiterated the details of the abduction and killings of Vanja and Pance at the previous hearing.

The court’s questions were first related to the day before Pance’s murder, as to whether his home were fighting Videvski, Ljupco Palevski and Vlatko Kesishev and whether all four went to Pance’s house to see Palevski, for which Manev responded affirmatively and added that his 500-m Kangu left for Skopje, because, as he said, Palevski was supposed to shoot a leak.

Regarding the critical day before Pance’s murder, he said that he, Palevski and Videevski again went to Pance’s house with radio stations, while Kesishev waited with Renault Kangu on the railroad. He pointed out that from 5:30 pm to about 7am they waited for Zezhovski to come out, but did not go out, after which the three three entered the home and carried out the kidnapping.

– After we grabbed Pance Zezhovski we put him in the gap on his car. From the house of Pance to the railroad where Kesishev was waiting, Pance Mark Citroen’s vehicle was driven by Palevski, I was on the front passenger seat, Bore Videvski was sitting back, while Zezhovski was in Geppe. At the railroad, where Kesishev was waiting, we stopped, we pushed the fuel, which we had previously dipped from the Makpetrol petrol station and continued to « Zemnica » – Manev said.

Asked if he saw that Palevski was wearing a firearm, Manev said: « If I saw I wouldn’t have been here. »

The court was given to Manev a fiscal account showing that he was purchased by the VD-40 spray and gloves and asked him if he was known, he responded affirmatively.

The day after Pance’s murder, Manev, along with Videvski, went to Pance’s home, with the previously purchased spray-40, gloves and cloths, to allegedly delete the traces, but, as he said, could not open the door.

Regarding the day before Vanja’s kidnapping, he said that around 11am before midnight, his Mercedes car, along with Bore Videvski, went to the right -wing party, after which the four in the morning four were heading for Radishani.

From Radishani, Manev said they were heading to the building where he was supposed to be kidnapping, while Palevski was driving in front of them with Renault Kangu, who was separated in front of Vanja’s building somewhere else nearby.

Earlier, he said, Palevski knew when the woman came out, because, as he said, he had followed, supervised and painted. He added that Palevski took them to the building only once, 10-15 days before the abduction.

After being abducted, Vanja said that Palevski drove with Renault Kangu in front of them all the time and informed them if there were police and whether she was clean.

Manev emphasized that the site of the village of Rudnik, where Vanja was killed, was determined by Palevski after, as he said, a long period of search for an object where the kidnapped woman would be kept.

Asked why they were digging for the Zemnica earlier with Kesishev, he said the idea was to guard Pance first, while they were using his vehicle to abduct the woman, after which, as he said, they would make a shift, ie they would release Pance along with Citroen, while in the Zemnica.

At a past hearing, which was also heard by Manev, he said the abductions were coordinated by Ljupco Palevski, who was first defendant in the case, and that he thought they only had to perform abductions and was surprised when Palevski shot them.

Manev was previously examined by Palevski and his defense, asking more questions about the time frames to carry out the activities, pointing to several statements by Manev, according to which the events were not described identical. Manev’s response to the reason was that it was because of the situation in which he made the statements in those moments.

The previous hearing Manev explained in detail the kidnapping of Vanja and Pance, pointing out that the coordinator and perpetrator of the killings was Palevski. He stressed that after Pance’s murder, he continued to abduct Vanja for fear and threats from Palevski and his family.

Manev stressed that they thought they had to kidnap a woman at 38-40 and that they had tried to change their minds after seeing they had kidnapped a child. At the same time, he said that the abductions were promised 150,000 euros.

He claimed that Vanja’s father, Aleksandar Gjorcevski, was not involved in the case.

Manev also pointed out that he was subjected to torture during his interrogations, which he said there was evidence.

According to the announcement, after the hearing of Manev, which is scheduled to end today with questions from the court, should testify Bore Videvski, Vlatko Kesishev, Aleksandar Gjorcevski and finally Palevski.

The indictment states that Ljupco Palevski, Bore Videvski, Velibor Manev, Vlatko Kesishov and Aleksandar Gjorcevski are accused of planning the abduction of 14-year-old Vanja in order to force a member of her immediate family to give money for ransom. The abduction of the damaged Pance Zezhovski in Veles, on the indictment, was intended to force him to give their own « Citroen » vehicle to use the child to abduct the child in Skopje.

Juvenile Vanja and Pance Veles were reported missing on November 27 and 24, and on December 3, 2023, dead were found near Skopje and Veles.