Skopje, 21 February 2023 (MIA) - The "Target-Fortress" and "Treasury" cases will gather pace in the coming period, the Criminal Court said on Tuesday.

Asked about the risk of exceeding the statute of limitations, the Criminal Court told a press briefing that the judges in both cases expressed assurance that proceedings would speed up.

"The 'Target-Fortress' trial is scheduled for February 28 because the judge is also assigned to the 'Trajectory' and other cases. However, this judge and the one in the 'Treasury' case said they will gather pace in the coming period. These are cases with the same defendants and coordination is crucial," say Court officials.

Last December, the Skopje-based Appellate Court upheld the appeals of seven people found guilty in the “Target-Fortress” case, also annulling the first-instance verdict and returning the case to the Skopje Criminal Court for a repeated procedure.

In February 2021, the Criminal Court sentenced 11 people to a total of 65 years in prison, including 10 years in suspended sentences in the Target-Fortress trial, in which they were tried for their involvement in mass wiretapping and destruction of the equipment of the secret police.

The Court sentenced the former head of the secret police, Sasho Mijalkov, to 12 years in prison on three counts, including abuse of office. The Court sentenced Goran Grujevski, former official of the intelligence service, and intelligence officer Nikola Boshkoski, to 15 years each. They were tried in absentia after fleeing to Greece. Also, former interior minister Gordana Jankuloska was sentenced to four years in prison for abuse of office.

Eleven people were on trial, which began in December 2017.