Macedonia Set to Free Jailed Priest

Jovan Vraniskovski might be out of prison as early as Monday, December 17, a source from Macedonia's Idrizovo prison told BIRN, after the state prosecution and the Skopje criminal court approved his release.

"After this, the procedure is really speedy. We do not expect any holdups and as soon as the [court] decision enter into force, he is eligible for release," the prison source said.

On Monday, the Skopje Criminal Court followed the State Prosecution for Organized Crime in backing Vraniskovski's pardon, which Idrizovo Prison - where he is incarcerated - had earlier requested.

Describing him as a person of "immaculate conduct", the court noted that he was "a diabetic [and] needs a particular diet that the prison cannot provide".

The decision for early release has not come into force yet, and could thus still be appealed although this is not expected.

Vraniskovski was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail in 2012 for embezzling some 250,000 euro from the Macedonian Orthodox Church before he defected to set up his own church, in communion with the Serbian Orthodox Church.

He has served three years in jail already, which means he has completed more than half of his sentence.

The decision to pardon him comes after the Macedonian Church called for Vraniskovski to be freed, following the December visit to Macedonia of a high-level Russian Orthodox Church cleric, Metropolitan Hilarion Alefeev of Volokolamsk.

Metropolitan Alefeev, an influential figure in the Russian Church, in December urged Macedonian leaders to free Vraniskovski as a preset for possible Russian-brokered talks between the Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox Churches.

The Serbian Church does not recognise its Macedonian...