The ruling VMRO-DPMNE accuses that the former SDSM leadership, led by Zoran Zaev and Venko Filipce, removed prosecutor Lejla Kadriu from office in order, as it states, to prevent criminal liability for part of the then ruling structure.
The party points out that Kadriu was fired precisely during the period when she was handling a case related to the fire at the modular hospital in Tetovo, in which 14 people died.
According to VMRO-DPMNE, the decision to suspend her was made to avoid, as the party claims, the possibility of "part of the then government being held criminally liable."
VMRO-DPMNE believes that Kadriu's recent public appearances further strengthen suspicions of political pressure on the prosecution and indicate that during that period the institutions were under strong party influence.
The party demanded responsibility for, as it says, "political interference in the work of the judiciary," again pointing to Zaev and Filipche as the individuals who, in their opinion, were behind such decisions.
VMRO-DPMNE Central Committee member Valentin Manasievski said that, according to allegations by former SPO prosecutor Lejla Kadriu, she was suspended after she began investigating the tragedy at the modular hospital in Tetovo, which killed 14 people. He claims that before the tragedy, legal changes were made that facilitated the installation of modular hospitals, “instead of improving safety standards in existing health facilities.”
He also claims that there are serious doubts about the way funds for modular hospitals were spent and demanded accountability from the former SDSM leadership.
So far, there has been no official response from SDSM to these accusations.
On the evening of September 8, 2021, a fire broke out in the modular hospital for Covid-19 patients in Tetovo. The fire killed 14 people, 12 of whom were patients and two were relatives of the patients. On September 10, two days after the fire, Health Minister Venko Filipche, Deputy Minister Ilir Hasani, Director of the Tetovo Hospital Florin Besimi, and Economic Director of the hospital Artan Etemi resigned.
