‘Stalling Tactics’ Could Scupper North Macedonia Ex-PM’s Trial

The high-profile trial in which former premier Nikola Gruevski is accused of ordering a political opponent's building to be demolished out of revenge may have to start all over again next year as the court failed to wrap it up by Tuesday before one of the judges retires, possibly rendering the entire process so far null and void.

The next hearing is set for January 17. But the fate of the case against Gruevski and six others is now in the hands of the country's Judicial Council, a governing body, which should decide on Wednesday whether there are grounds to postpone the retirement of the judge.

Should the judge retire, the Skopje criminal court will have no other option in January but to conclude that the trial has to start again from the beginning.

Over the last two weeks, the courtroom has seen tensions rise as the defendants and their lawyers came up with various excuses that stalled progress in the trial.

When the presiding judge tried last week to speed up the procedure, which was already nearing its finish, four lawyers for the seven defendants in the case did not show up, insisting they were too busy.

The court fined them and appointed new lawyers, who have asked for a one-day postponement to get acquainted with the case.

The trial was about to resume on Monday, but did not because one defendant, the former mayor of Skopje's municipality of Gazi Baba, Toni Trajkovski, did not show up because of a reported attack on him, prompting the judge to order him to be brought to court on Tuesday.

But Trajkovski's lawyer insisted that his client was too badly injured, meaning that there was no chance of wrapping up the trial and issuing the verdict on Tuesday.

The prosecution in the case and the presiding judge have on...