Dobrila Kacarska

Macedonia's former interior minister, Gordana Jankuloska, was jailed for six years on Monday in a first-instance verdict for "misuse of office", for her involvement in the illegal purchase of a luxury Mercedes in 2012 that the former prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, had used secretly.

A judge who sentenced the former prime minister of Macedonia, Nikola Gruevski, to two years in jail last month has been under 24-hour police protection for the past two weeks due to threats made against her, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski said on Friday.

Nikola Gruevski, Macedonia's former prime minister and former leader of the VMRO DPMNE party, was jailed for two years on Wednesday for "receiving a reward", in the form of a luxury Mercedes, after previously "illegally influencing" the other two accused to commit the illegal purchase of the vehicle.

The ruling was a first-instance verdict and Gruevski may appeal the sentence.