Detention Refused for Macedonia Election Fraud Suspects

The Criminal Court in Skopje has until Thursday to answer complaints filed by Macedonia's Special Prosecution over the Court's decision last Friday to leave ministers suspected of election fraud at liberty.

The eight suspects, including two former ministers, were questioned about fraud allegations over the weekend but left the court as free people.

The Skopje Court said it had formed a council comprised of three judges that will review the complaints and give its decision.

If the council rejects the complaints, the Special Prosecution has the right to again seek detention for the suspects, but only once it gathers more evidence.

Meanwhile, the Special Prosecution has said it is continuing work on the case it has called "Titanic".

The Special Prosecution at a press conference last Friday said it suspected that the former ministers and senior officials organised fraud during the elections in 2013.

The Criminal Court later summoned former police minister Gordana Jankuloska, former transport minister, Mile Janakieski and the government secretary general Kiril Bozinovski, all members of the government of VMRO DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski who stepped down as Prime Minister in January as part of an EU-brokered crisis agreement.

A political leader of the ethnic Macedonians in Albania, Edmond Temelko, was also summoned to the hearing and was not detained either.

The suspects in the "Titanic" case are suspected of several offences, from criminal association to violation of electoral rights, violation of the freedom of voters, bribery during elections and voting, destruction of electoral materials and misuse of assets during election campaigns.

The Special Prosecution, which has been set up to probe...