MPs gave themselves green light for amnesty

The five MPs of the parliamentary group charged with the violence on April 27 will be able to seek and receive amnesty for themselves. This will be provided by the new Amnesty law, whose draft-proposal was agreed on in the legislature yesterday. With it, there will be no amnesty for the organizers of the bloody intrusion in the Parliament, as well as for those who committed violent acts.

Judge Dobrila Kacarska, who leads the case in the Criminal Court, told Nezavisen Vesnik/ Independent Newspaper yesterday that there can be no verdict for those who will be pardoned.

“There can be no verdict for the pardoned, the procedure will be stopped for them,” Kacarska told Nezavisen Vesnik.

In that case, it is unclear how the parliamentary body will assess who took part and what was their role in the events of 27 April. Therefore, it is not excluded that the verdict of the case be pronounced before the Law on Amnesty is adopted, and then pardon some of the defendants.

On the other hand, all from the Coalition for fair trial argue that there must be a verdict for the defendant, although they were previously pardoned for the case. “According to Article 402, paragraph 1, item 6 of the Law on Criminal Procedure, if the defendant is released from charges or criminal prosecution by an act of amnesty or pardon, the case cannot be undertaken due to obsolescence, or if there are other circumstances that exclude criminal prosecution, the court will bring a rejection verdict (a verdict with which the charge is denied)”, emphasized the Coalition.

Zekir Ramcilovic, from the independent parliamentary group of VMRO-DPMNE, who leads the subgroup for reconciliation in the Parliament, said yesterday that it has reached a consensus on this issue. According to him, the Draft Law will not cover the organizers and the persons who committed acts of violence during the events on April 27, last year in Parliament.

“Any person covered by the process will have to submit an amnesty request for further action. This way, we believe that the process that should provide answers for everything that happened on April 27 will continue and we will have a legal absolution. Justice will be served, but of course the part of the persons involved in the events of 27 April will be granted amnesty and in that way the first step towards relaxing the relations in the society, ie certain divisions that emerged after this event, said Ramchilovic.

He clarified that the text clearly defined which persons will be covered by the process after the completion of the evidence procedure.

“If some of the involved believe that they do not need amnesty, and that they want a closing statement in court… Then we should leave them room to prove their role,” Ramcilovic said.

This means that MPs, but also other defendants who will find themselves in both groups, will get evidence in writing with the verdict that they were neither the organizers of the intrusion nor committed acts of violence, and do not want to be pardoned, can finish the court process, thanks to the existing charge and on the basis of another article: “association for the purpose of hostile activity”. Prosecutor Vilma Ruskovska said she would not requalify the act until the law has entered into force.

“The Parliament cannot perform requalification, but only the prosecutor. I do not plan any legal requalification until the law on amnesty has entered into force,” Ruskovska says.

Three MPs from the Independent Parliamentary Group of VMRO-DPMNE – Krsto Mukoski, Saso Vasilevski and Ljuben Arnaudov, who on October 19 surprisingly voted “in favor” of the constitutional changes, are expected to accept the chance with both hands and save themselves from possible prison sentences. It is unclear whether this will be accepted by Johan Tarculovski and Ljupco Dimovski, who remain firmly attached to their parties: VMRO-DPMNE and the Socialist Party, which are in the opposition coalition “For Better Macedonia”.

“At this point, it is frivolous to comment on an issue that is still in procedure, drafts, proposals etc. Let them adopt the law first, then we will sit down and see what we will do,” Tarculovski told Nezavisen Vesnik/Independent Newspaper. Dimovski did not answer our calls, nor replied to our sent SMS messages.

In addition to the ‘openers’ of the parliamentary doors, which Prime Minister Zoran Zaev once called “the doorkeepers of hell”, the artists who organized the protest, but had no involvement in organizing the intrusion in Parliament, could also save themselves from prison. Although they did not commit acts of violence, the Amnesty Law will not apply to the former head of the Public Security Bureau, Mitko Cavkov, as well as three other members of the Ministry of Interior.

The law on amnesty will be adopted in a fast-track procedure and its adoption will require a simple majority of the members of the session, provided that there are at least 61 attendees. VMRO-DPMNE yesterday reiterated that they will not support it because it is a political blackmail and bargaining, not justice.

“There is a lot of politics here, and not enough truth. Our position is principled: if there is amnesty, then there should be amnesty for the whole event, and not only for those who voted in favor of chanigng the constitutional name,” said VMRO-DPMNE MP Vlatko Gjorcev.

SDSM, however, is convinced that those who committed the acts of violence will still get the punishment they deserve.

The next days will be a race against time, because it is uncertain what will happen first: the amnesty, or the verdict for 33 defendants in the trial, which is nearing its completion.

When it comes to other court cases related to the violence of April 27 (the attempted murder on Zijadin Sela or the assault on Radmila Sekerinska), the parliamentary reconciliation body emphasizes that there can be no amnesty for those who committed the acts of violence.

Goran Adamovski