Macedonia Expects Hungary to Extradite Gruevski

Macedonia will send Hungary a formal extradition request for the runaway former prime minister Nikola Gruevski in the next few days, government spokesperson Mile Bosnjakovski said on Thursday.

"We will provide arguments why Gruevski should be extradited to Macedonia. It is an extensive document of some 400 pages, but no matter, the request will be formally sent during these coming days," Bosnjakovski said.

He added that Macedonia expected Hungary not to harbour an escaped felon who had wronged his own country.

Macedonia's public prosecution said on Thursday that it had launched an investigation focusing on suspicions that certain state officials may have abused their position to enable Gruevski to flee, despite having surrendered his passport.

During a visit to Kosovo on Thursday, Hungary's Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó avoided specific answers regarding Gruevski's presence in Hungary, his whereabouts and his chances of getting asylum.

"Our relevant authority, the migration authority, will carry out the procedures according to international law," he commented briefly.

On BIRN's request for more details, the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office stonewalled on Thursday, saying: "The Hungarian authorities will not provide further information relating to the details of the asylum procedure prior to completion of that procedure."

In a telephone call between Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov and his Hungarian counterpart Szijjártó previously on Thursday, Dimitrov said it was paradoxical for Gruevski, under whose rule Macedonia was characterised by the European Commission as a "captured state", to seek asylum in an EU member country.

The Macedonian Foreign Ministry press release stated that...