Sela case: They repent and do not know why they entered the Assembly

They do not know why they entered the Parliament on April 27 last year, nobody put pressure on them, but after eight months spent in prison and in house arrest, they realized that they have made a mistake and regret what they did. The defendants Cejo Gjorgievski and Stojan Pavleski, who were originally charged with the attack on MP Zijadin Sela, and then for violence against MPs in the Parliament, pleaded guilty yesterday before the court and vowed not to repeat what they had done.

“I regret that I entered the Parliament, I did not want to hurt anyone, it will never happen again,” said defendant Cejo Gjorgievski. Stojan Pavleski, again in a statement to the media, did not know how to answer why he entered the Assembly.

“It happened,” he replied briefly, while his lawyer whispered the lines for him in the background.

He says that in his case there was no order, he entered the Parliament outraged that one of the MPs sang the anthem in Albanian language. But now, after eight months he promises that no matter what happens, he will not repeat his actions, and leave his own 15-year-old son and his old and sick mother alone.
Pavleski is a single parent, his wife left him when his son was eight years old, and he is the sole provider of the family.

“I would never ever do the same thing again” Pavleski says. He expects a probation verdict tomorrow, after the judge separated the proceedings for these two defendants.

Their lawyers asked the court to take the social and health status of the two defendants into account, and the fact that they have never been convicted.
But the prosecutor in this case, Darko Jakimovski, asks the court to convict them and punish them. This crime provides for a prison sentence of six months to five years, but also provides grounds for alternative measures.

“Any alternative measure for the defendants is the banalization of the whole weight of the event. The defendants were aware, whatever their reason, that they were endangering the life of the MPs present. Stojan Pavleski is the first who penetrates the cordon, acts violently, attacks, and throws objects. The same goes for Cejo, which also throws a camera stand, wheels platform from the armchair and other objects towards the MPs. His options are conditioned by his physique and age. The two men are not accountable for the attack on Sela, but for the entire quantum of actions before the retreating of Sela takes place,” the prosecutor said.
He said that the sanctions for such acts are inevitable, and that only punishment can guarantee that such acts will not be repeated, and will send a message to future perpetrators.

After the two defendants acknowledged guilt today, the court separated them from the procedure and, with the changes in the indictment, they are charged with an easier criminal act – violence. Judge Slavica Andreevska will announce the verdict in the morning. Key proof of the changes in the indictment was the video that was presented by the prosecution as additional evidence.

With this evidence, Sasho Senkov was acquitted of all charges, the act was retrained for two others, as for the remaining seven, the criminal offense remained as an attempt to murder Sela.

Although other people not covered by the indictment could be seen in the footage, the prosecution also said they are working on identifying other people, but a new investigation needs to be opened and a new charge has to be filed. All of these seven people are in custody, except Aleksandar Janevski – Tosta, who ended up in the cardiology ICU, and is now in house arrest.

The prosecution and the defense should give their closing arguments for the murder attempt on Sela on July 5.