Convicts flee before they are called to serve prison

The Sofia Medical Center “Majcin Dom” banned Dr Nikolce Damcevski from performing medical activity, considering that there is an effective decision against him for a two-year prison sentence in Macedonia. Before our Ministry of Health addressed the Bulgarian authorities, Damcevski duly performed his work in the capital of Bulgaria, and was even considered one of the best doctors.

Damcevski is convicted because he presented a condition of false pregnancy in the period from September 2015 to April 2016 to a patient who had previously undergone artificial insemination. Although he knew that the damaged woman was not pregnant, he performed regular control gynecological examinations with an echo apparatus, he presented false echoes showing the fetus, presented a false cardiac action of the fetus, measured the length and weight of the fetus, determined the sex of the fetus, verbally detailed explanations of any alleged fetal footage in each examination, he made screenings with written reports indicating that the echoes were seen in a different gestation week, and then even scheduled a birth term.

But when the time to serve his prison sentence in Idrizovo was up, he fled from Macedonia. Officials from the Criminal Court said they had completed their work, precautionary measures were foreseen and his passport had been taken away. There are unofficial rumors that he crossed the border with a Bulgarian passport. His extradition to Macedonia is uncertain.

The example with Damcevski reminds us of Nikola Gruevski’s escape, who, although there was an effective decision for a two-year prison sentence for the acquisition of the luxury Mercedes, fled from justice at the last moment. It opens dilemmas whether the justice system in the country really works, or the rule still applies: everyone is guilty until they escape.

Lawyer Filip Medarski says that the main tool lies with the Prosecutor’s Office, which at any stage of the court proceedings can impose detention on the defendant or convicted person if the prosecution senses flight risk.

“The prosecution must be more alert and cautious. This is the main problem, not the law, which is precise and clear about the manner of application and practice. The procedure for executing the sanction implies humanity, to give the convicted person the opportunity to finish the things he eventually started before going to prison,” said Medarski.

The existing law provides for a series of measures to delay serving prison.

Upon receiving the case from a repeated verdict in the Court of Appeal, according to ACCMIS – electronic system for processing cases, the case is allocated to a judge for the enforcement of sanctions for further procedure. The convicts have three days to appeal on the validity of the decision. Then, they need to wait for the court’s decision, and depending on it, there is another possibility: an appeal to the Criminal Council. It lasts for days, and during this time the convict can organize an escape and flee the country.

“These are separate situations, it’s not the rule. Reporters are focused on the case with Gruevski, this is the one with this doctor, so it gives the impression that this happens quite often. But eventually they were all discovered abroad and extradited,” says lawyer Kostadin Bogdanov.

He reminded that several years ago there were suggestions for introducing similar practices in the US, where defendants were obliged to attend the reading of a verdict that could put them in prison.

“Unfortunately, it has not been adopted and therefore we have cases of abuse of the so-called “loophole” that the convicts have in the period from the reading of the legally valid verdict to the moment they should be sent to jail. On the other hand, it might not be that bad, because convicts still should prepare to go to jail, maybe they are ill or, for instance, are single parents, so they need time to decide who will take care of their children,” concluded Bogdanov.

According to the legal possibilities, the convicted persons may request the postponement of a prison sentence for several reasons: if the person is in hospital treatment for severe acute illness or addiction, death or serious illness has occurred in the immediate family of the convicted person, the postponement is necessary for the execution or completion of urgent Polish or seasonal work, or things caused by natural disasters or other tragedies etc. Nikola Gruevski requested a delay due to his obligations as an MP to attend parliamentary sessions, as well as to finish writing his book. His requests were denied, but while the procedure for the rejection of his requests was ongoing, he fled to Hungary, where he was granted asylum.

Goran Adamovski