Prosecutor Lenche Ristovska said Friday the Prosecutor’s Office is satisfied from the verdicts in the “Target-Fortress” case because the prosecution’s claims have been confirmed, while adding that the request for Mijalkov’s detention was necessary due to the flight risk.
“We would like to first see the court’s elaboration of the verdicts and then decide on the appeals. With regards to Mijalkov’s detention, we believe there is ground for this because of a flight risk. Considering the evidence we presented, such as the residence permit in another country, information on the state of his property, the fact that the house order cannot be properly carried out, as well as the fact that he was unavailable to law enforcement for a certain period of time have all reaffirmed the position that circumstances allow for ordering detention,” prosecutor Ristovska told reporters.
According to her, the maximum detention period is 60 days, but it might be extended due to the cumulative nature of sentences.
Earlier today, the Skopje-based Criminal Court delivered the verdicts in the “Target-Fortress” case related to the mass surveillance and destruction of the Administration for Security and Counterintelligence (UBK) equipment used for the interception of communications, including a total of 55 years imprisonment and 10 years of suspended sentences for the 11 defendants.
Former UBK director Sasho Mijalkov was sentenced to 12 years in prison for crimes “criminal association”, “abuse of office” and “receiving a reward for unlawful influence”.
