North Macedonia’s “Extortion” Trial Leaves Big Questions Unanswered

The two defendants claim they are victims of a masterful operation to discredit the Special Prosecution, SJO, which Janeva once headed, and rescue those that the SJO had once prosecuted.

The prosecution, on the other hand, claim that Jovanovski, aka "Boki 13", and Janeva, had been greedy to get hold of the money of one of the wealthiest people in the country.

However, the trial has offered no proof that any money from this alleged extortion was ever found in Janeva's possession.

The only evidence in this regard is a photo of her with a bunch of banknotes. Most of the money, 1.5 million euros allegedly extorted from the victim, were never found.

While the prosecution's only real evidence against Janeva has been circumstantial, neither Janeva nor Jovanovski have overturned Kamchev's claims with clear evidence of their own.

Ex-Special Prosecution head Katica Janeva is accused of misuse of office. Photo: Robert Atanasovski

Theatrical stunts have overshadowed hard facts:

Jovanovski, the eccentric informal owner of the now defunct 1TV station, stands accused, alongside another businessman, Zoran Milevski, aka "Kicheec", of taking 1.5 million euros from Kamchev's family.

In exchange, the prosecution says that, from November 2018 to April 2019, he promised to use his influence on Janeva, while she headed the SJO, to get Kamchev out of detention and regain his passport.

Kamhcev was then in detention as a suspect in another investigation, codenamed "Empire", instigated by the SJO.

Janeva is meanwhile also charged with misuse of office for allegedly accepting a bribe of 50,000 euros along with some luxury furniture.

After 34 sessions in court, the trial is coming to an end, and after...