Haki Aziri

Skopje Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced Agim Ismailovic, Afrim Ismailovic and Alil Demiri to life in prison, finding them guilty of terrorism for committing the murders of five ethnic Macedonians - a crime that shook the nation in 2012 and has continued to cause inter-ethnic tensions and speculation about political meddling.

This prompted the prosecution to stick mainly to the old forensic evidence and testimonies from the first trial.

The appeals court said in a statement on Monday that it has upheld the six ethnic Albanians' sentences and rejected their appeal as "ungrounded".

Their defence had demanded acquittal due to a lack of evidence, insisting the case was a political prosecution staged by the government.

Amid a heavy police presence in a Skopje courtroom full of friends and relatives of the six alleged ethnic Albanian Muslim extremists who were sentenced to life in prison for terrorism over the killings, judge Liljana Shopova postponed the public hearing until September 11, citing "unfulfilled legal conditions".

Police spokesperson Ivo Kotevski said that officers were “closely monitoring social networks” ahead of the possible unauthorised protests on Friday and warned that “violent outbursts cannot be tolerated”.

Macedonia hopes for calm after days of protests, riots

Ali Ahmeti, the head of the junior party in Macedonia's ruling coalition, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, demanded on Tuesday a transparent retrial and a public presentation of the evidence that led to the conviction of six ethnic Albanians for terrorism - a verdict that sparked unrest on the streets of the capital last week.

Macedonia’s ethnic Albanians were urged to rally again in the capital Skopje on Monday after midday prayers in mosques, raising fears of more unrest after clashes between protesters and riot police over the past several days.

Police established a high-profile presence in the city centre on Friday ahead of the demonstration, which is being seen by the authorities as high-risk and a potential flashpoint for violent confrontation.

Alil Demiri, Afrim Ismailovic, Agim Ismailovic, Fejzi Aziri, Haki Aziri and Sami Ljuta were found guilty on Monday of killing five ethnic Macedonians at Orthodox Easter in 2012 and given the longest possible sentence for terrorism offences, life in prison.

The court said that the murder was planned and carried out in a “vicious manner”.