Dejan Jovanov - Deko, the owner of the Kocani discotheque "Pulse" and the first defendant in the case of the fire that killed 63 people, will propose a guarantee to be released from custody and defend himself from freedom, and it is possible that after his release he will not return to Kocani, but will have a place of residence in Skopje.
His detention expires on October 3, and the defense is already preparing a proposal that will offer a guarantee that he will be present and available throughout the entire trial.
"The defense is prepared to propose a guarantee that the defendant will be present and available throughout the entire procedure. There is pressure here to extend the detention at any cost, but the law is clear, i.e. detention is lifted after one year and there is no reason to continue it. We will propose a guarantee in order to be able to provide certainty that the defendant will be present throughout the entire procedure, which, unfortunately, due to its extensiveness, and not through the fault of the defense, is taking so long," said Jovanov's lawyer, Ivana Kocevska.
Kocevska confirmed that there is a possibility that Jovanov, if released from detention, will reside in Skopje instead of Kocani.
The trial for the Pulse disco fire, which killed 63 people, most of whom were children, continued today in the Idrizovo courtroom.
The case is being led by Judge Dijana Gruevska-Ilievska, and the prosecution is represented by a team of 15 public prosecutors.
In less than a month, Jovanov could defend himself from freedom in the criminal proceedings being conducted against him and 32 other individuals. According to the Criminal Procedure Code, detention for the accused can last a maximum of one year, depending on the gravity of the crime and the envisaged sentence.
Jovanov was arrested immediately after the disco fire on March 16, and his detention was ordered on March 23 last year.
His brother Todor Jovanov, whose house arrest was lifted after he provided a guarantee of around 320.000 euros in real estate, is also accused. Dejan Jovanov's son, for whom precautionary measures have been imposed, is also accused.
Dejan Jovanov has repeatedly requested the termination of his detention due to his deteriorating health, but the Court has not accepted his requests. His requests have been met with harsh reactions from the victims' parents, who said that they feel that the case is being minimized and that human lives are being put on the back burner.
In the past few months, the court accepted guarantees and released from house arrest five defendants – Jane Jancevski, Mitko Stojanov, Martin Gjorgiev, Stojancho Dimitriev and Bekim Hadziu.
According to the Criminal Procedure Code, detention can last up to one year if the crime is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, or up to two years if the crime is punishable by life imprisonment.
The defendants are charged with serious crimes against public security, according to Article 292, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code, which stipulates that the perpetrator will be punished with imprisonment of at least three years, with no upper limit.
