Macedonia's DUI Cancels Backing for Disputed Bill

Macedonia's junior ruling party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, has abruptly withdrawn support for changes to the criminal code that would give defendants much more time to prepare before charges are raised against them.

"The idea was to build a consensus with the opposition, but as that did not happen, we think it is not a good idea to pass such a law," the deputy speaker of parliament, a DUI MP, Rafiz Aliti, said.

Without DUI support, the main ruling VMRO DPMNE party does not have a majority in the 123-seat assembly and would have to rely on independent MPs, whose endorsement is unlikely, to pass the bill.

The bill would oblige prosecutors to inform defendants about the charges against them and about the evidence it had acquired 90 days beforehand.

The current law code gives defendants only 15 days to prepare for trial.

Lawmakers who submitted the bill said their goal was to boost "the principle of a just trial and of equality" between prosecution and defence.

But the changes are widely seen as a move by the main ruling VMRO DPMNE party to hamper the work of the Special Prosecution, which is tasked with investigating alleged grave crimes committed by senior officials, many of them from VMRO DPMNE.

"Defence lawyers do need more time to prepare their defences - but this would only postpone procedures," lawyer Suzana Joshevska said.

The DUI initially endorsed the bill, until the US embassy in Skopje on Wednesday criticized the move. "Why now, why the rush, why only these changes?" the US embassy twitted.

The Special Prosecution was formed last autumn as part of the EU -brokered political crisis accord, and has thus far launched official investigations into three cases, announcing many...