Skopje, 8 May 2025 (MIA) - The Skopje-based Appellate Court has rejected the appeals of several defendants in the "Laskarci" case, relating to a bus crash in 2019, in which 16 people were killed and more than 30 injured, while partially accepting the appeal from the Public Prosecutor's Office and increasing the prison sentences of four defendants.

According to the decision, the owner of company "Durmo Turs", Durmish Beluli, will serve ten instead of four years in prison, the prison term of company's transport manager Remzi Miftari has been increased from six to ten years, while Igor Gjorgjievski and Goran Dukovski, employees at the vehicle inspection station, will serve seven years each in prison instead of five.

The five-year prison sentence of Jane Bovarski, employee at the vehicle inspection station, and the 14-year sentence of bus driver Manoil Trifunovski remain in place.

According to the Criminal Court ruling issued in January 2024, defendants Beluli and Miftari did not comply with the safety regulations in mass traffic, although they were aware that harmful consequences could result, and thus threatened the lives of the people who were transported by the bus.

Defendants Gjorgjievski, Dukovski and Bovarski caused danger because, even though they had noticed defects, they allowed the bus to pass the technical inspection.

The ruling stated that Trifunovski, a professional driver, though aware that he was operating a defective vehicle carrying 55 passengers, failed to comply with the regulations and threatened public traffic.

MIA file photo