Skopje, 25 March 2025 (MIA) – Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said Tuesday that the procedure for the dismissal of Chief Prosecutor Ljupcho Kocevski will be stopped at its current stage.

“Given the sensitive situation in society, we plan to stop the procedure at its current stage, as we believe the prosecutors working on the Kochani nightclub fire case should be allowed to continue and complete their work. When I said that we are satisfied, I could see that there was a coordinated effort between the Ministry of Interior and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, leading to 34 people detained who are under suspicion of having any connection to this case,” Mickoski said.

He noted that the investigation will not stop at this point and that the case will be widened.

“The public is also sensitive to some past cases, and we will need to wait and see if the Public Prosecutor’s Office intends to address past irregularities, and whether it could possibly review those cases to find out if we are all truly seeking justice, or if that justice should be selective. We, as a government, encourage this; it is the responsibility of the Prosecutor’s Office, not ours, but we support them in moving in that direction. Regardless of who has made a mistake or acted against the law, they should be held accountable,” Mickoski said.

On February 11, 2025, the Government decided to initiate procedures for the dismissal of Chief Prosecutor Kocevski. The Chief Prosecutor's term is six years, with Kocevski elected to the post in February 2024.  In accordance with the Government’s conclusion, the Ministry of Justice took action and prepared an opinion regarding the proposed dismissal of the Chief Public Prosecutor.