The police had to know where Gruevski was

The Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office joined in the investigation following the information in the public and in the public interest after receiving certain details. They suspect that certain officials, by abusing their position and authorization, enabled the convicted person to leave the country. Within the pre-trial procedure, a series of measures for gathering evidence have been ordered.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs also said that they work to determine the way Gruevski fled the country. The Internal Control Department is carrying out a procedure for possible involvement of police officers who helped him escape, and is also investigating whether he had outside assistance.

“After the completion of these two procedures, the Ministry of Interior will come out in public with a complete image on how Gruevski’s escape was organized,” government spokesman Mile Bosnjakovski said.

“Guys, I’ll see you tomorrow at 9 o’clock.”

While the competent institutions are yet to investigate how VMRO-DPMNE’s former leader spat in the face of the rule of law, security experts directly point their fingers at the Interior Ministry and Minister Oliver Spasovski. They identify many flaws and absurdities in the work of the police, that is, in the very process of securing Gruevski.

“Ignore those stories about the court, the Special Prosecutor’s Office, any of those. The only blame for the former prime minister’s escape is in the Ministry of Interior. When the court passes a precautionary measure, that is, taking away his passport, the only institution responsible for ensuring that he does not leave the state is the Ministry of the Interior. The services should make a plan based on the clues and knowledge they have, follow him and watch out so that he does not escape, especially since he is about to go to prison. Even if we are talking about illegal passages, in this case the borders are guarded by border guards. Of course, it’s impossible to physically guard the entire border, but it’s inconceivable that the services have not received information that Gruevski is preparing to flee. If so – then we have a big security problem, it means the system does not work,” our interlocutor says, who insisted on staying anonymous because of the sensitivity of the case.

The Interior Ministry had six of their employees, who were Gruevski’s personal bodyguards. According to law, he is the one who chooses his team, consisting mainly of people he trusts the most. They did not have a 24-hour protection, but the Ministry provided it when necessary, ie when performing regular duties or upon call. On the night of November 8, around 11 pm, they left him at his home, and he told them: ‘Guys I’ll see you tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock.’ ‘The guys’ came the next morning, but he was not there. They waited for him to call them when they needed him. Gruevski reappeared on Tuesday, November 13th, but from the capital of Hungary.

“Their task is to make notes on Gruevski’s security, to call if they have knowledge about possible attacks, assassinations or other dangers to the life of the ex-prime minister. In fact, it is an obligation of all MOI employees. In particular, when talking about this six guards, they came to the Ministry only to load fuel in the vehicle, for service or washing. They were treated as Gruevski’s people and nobody demanded anything from them, even though they were paid by the MOI. The problem is in other ministry services. They were supposed to know where Gruevski was at all times, and to find out what he was planning to do,” our interlocutor pointed out.

Stoilkovic: This is a slap in the face

Meanwhile, speculation over the route through which Gruevski fled has not yet settled. Media close to certain authorities in the country and the region are spreading wrong and ridiculous information in order for their mentors not to take responsibility or not to be connected as Gruevski’s helpers. In this context, fake news is that he owned and fled with a Bulgarian passport, and that through Albania he landed a plane of the company Malev, which, by the way, was closed down years ago, that he had crossed the border masked in a hat and sunglasses and similar nonsense. In the domestic public, however, the MP Ivan Stoilkovic and Stevco Jakimovski were mentioned as Gruevski’s accomplices, but both rejected such untruths.

“It is one of the biggest slaps in the face since the independence of Macedonia on the internal and external plan. You can spin as much as you like, but the mere fact that Gruevski will receive asylum in a state of the European Union throws the country at the bottom of the ladder of human rights, “said Stoilkovic for Nezavisen Vesnik/Independent daily newspaper, slipping his mind that Hungary itself is at the bottom in the EU with regard to the rule of law and a there is an ongoing procedure to deprive the country of its voting rights.

GROM’s leader estimates that with Gruevski’s escape we are all defeated: both the government and the opposition, the whole justice and himself.

“But the biggest culprits are those who created the assumptions about the escape. Human rights violations, procedural law violations, trial without a lawyer, trial in enormously short deadlines, trial for a ridiculous criminal act for the purchase of a Mercedes, and not for corruption, the insistence to close at all costs, hitting the timing when there is a debate on constitutional amendments – made this case a classic political and tampered one. I am sorry that the Republican Judicial Council did not take Gruevski’s accusation seriously that the Appeal was pressed to rule this verdict. I am deeply convinced that this case will cause further damage to the Council of Europe. Knowing of Viktor Orban’s sappiness, my assumption is that we are not talking about a simple case of asylum request, but many questions will arise about what is happening in Macedonia. All this will go to the detriment of all citizens thanks to the ‘Kacarska Judiciary’, which replaced the ‘Swarovski judiciary’. At the moment, we have a judiciary that is characterized by its brutality, unprincipledness, vindictiveness and disrespect of the legal regulations and the presumption of innocence,” Jakimovski said in a statement for Nezavisen Vesnik..

He appeals to the public not to be naive about the whole case and possible agreement from the government and the opposition, because it is very indicative why the eight fugitives from the ‘For Better Macedonia’ coalition did not vote in the same way as those in power to deprive Gruevski of his MP mandate , as was the case with constitutional amendments.

“Let’s not kid ourselves, if Zaev’s order was to strip Gruevski of his mandate – it would have been taken away. That, in my opinion, means that there was some kind of a deal. Also, it is symptomatic that Minister Spasovski made excuses such as the one that he did not have a court order to monitor Gruevski, and only six hours later Mile Janakievski and Kire Bozinovski were detained on the grounds that the UBK was aware that they were preparing for escape. Wait, didn’t you say you have no permission to follow suspects?”- asked Jakimovski.

In the sea of ​​unverified information, it is certain that the members of Nikola Gruevski’s closest family are in Macedonia. His wife Borkica regularly finishes her duties at her job at the Securities and Exchange Commission, while both of their daughters attend classes at one of the primary schools in Skopje.

Goran Adamovski