Skopje, 31 January 2024 (MIA) – Skopje Public Prosecutor's Office Chief Prosecutor Gavril Bubevski, at a media briefing Wednesday, said there are no new suspects in the case concerning the murder of Vanja and Panche, adding that he sees no reason why the procedure to extradite prime suspect Ljupcho Palevski Palcho from Turkey shouldn’t be completed soon.

At the briefing, Bubevski said the case is at a “serious stage”.

“There are no new suspects. The case is in an investigation stage. The legal part over the extradition has been completed. The part from Turkey remains, over which I don’t have the latest information. The case is already in a serious stage, maybe we will have more once the extradition is completed, and I see no reason why this shouldn’t happen soon,” said Bubevski.

Regarding the political party “Desna”, which has resumed its activities, despite the fact that some of the suspects are its members, Bubevski stated there is no evidence that partisan influence was in any way related to the actions in the case.

14-year-old Vanja and 74-year-old Panche, who were reported missing on November 27 and 24 respectively, were found dead near Skopje and Veles on December 3.

Ljupcho Palevski Palcho has been charged with abduction and murder as part of the case. Velibor Manevski, Vlatko Keshishov and Bore Videvski have been charged with abduction and accessory to murder, whereas Vanja's father Aleksandar Gjorchevski, who is suspected of sharing information with them over his daughter's morning routine, has been charged with accessory to abduction. Stefan Dimkovski has also been charged under suspicions that he aided Palevski’s escape to Turkey.

Photo: MIA Archive