Skopje, 3 April 2023 (MIA) — It is evident that intentional or accidental mistakes regarding serious violations still remain permissible for some judges, the Ministry of Justice said Monday in its reaction to the Appellate Court's revoking Monday the first-instance ruling in the 'April 27 Organizers' case.

Demanding urgent answers about "why this is being allowed," the Ministry of Justice said the public should know "why all disputed circumstances and important facts related to the crime of terrorist endangerment of the constitutional order and security were not determined in the first-instance ruling."

It urged the Judicial Council to assess the circumstances the ruling was based on and initiate proceedings, including disciplinary ones, against those "who knowingly or unknowingly had allowed trust in the justice system to fall to the lowest level."

The Ministry of Justice's reaction came after the Appellate Court revoked Monday the first-instance ruling in the 'April 27 Organizers' case, which will be retried before the Criminal Court.

The court granted the appeals of former parliament speaker Trajko Veljanoski, former minister of education Spiro Ristovski, former minister of transport and communications Mile Janakieski and former secret police chief Vladimir Angelovski, who had been given prison sentences ranging from six to six-and-a-half years.

According to the Appellate Court, provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code had been violated during the court proceedings. It said the first-instance court had insufficiently elaborated all disputed circumstances; failed to establish all facts that constituted the crime and its execution; and violated the right to defense that affected the legality of the ruling and the defendants' right to a fair trial because it did not sufficiently elaborate the provisions related to the law on pardoning. ik/mr