Skopje, 18 January 2023 (MIA) – Justice Minister Nikola Tupanchevski said late Wednesday that dismissal of Marjan Spasovski from the post of director of the Department for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions after Skopje prison inmate Bekim Memeti escaped from the Idrizovo prison, does not mean that the work is finished, but that evidence should be found as to who was involved.

In an interview with Top Tema talk show on Telma TV, he did not rule out the possibility that the investigation into the escape of Memeti will result in the dismissal of more directors, including the director of the Idrizovo prison, Shpend Tahiri.

“At Tuesday’s government session, the director of the Department for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions was dismissed, and all options were considered that would actually mean vertical responsibility. Also, three or four months ago the previous director, who was also the director of the Idrizovo prison, was dismissed by the government. It does not mean that all work is done here. They simply need to be discovered, to get to the evidence of who is involved in this whole thing,” Tupanchevski said.

Asked whether the government assessed that Tahiri’s responsibility was less than that of Spasovski, Tupanchevski said that there was no question of assessing greater or lesser responsibility, because responsibility should be along a vertical line, from the first to the last, and the investigation should show that.

Asked if this means that the director of Idrizovo prison could also be dismissed, he said that it is not excluded because all options are being considered.

In regard to the responsibility, whether someone did it unintentionally, on purpose, with intent, due to negligence, that should be shown by the investigation. Of course, in such situations, sometimes unintentional omissions have a serious impact, he added.

According to him, there is no doubt that Memeti’s escape was a well-organized action, which requires an equally well-organized reaction from the state authorities.

He said that meant suspending everyone initially who seemed to be involved in this unfortunate event. Also detention has already been ordered for these same persons and they have been suspended from office. Moreover, Tupanchevski added that an international warrant has been issued by the Ministry of the Interior for the person who is at large. And fourthly, it should be pointed out that the law enforcement authorities, including the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime are involved in the discovery of all the evidence related to this event.