From prime minister to escaped convict: Macedonia’s ex-leader <PERSON> flees to Hungary · Global Voices
While in power, <PERSON> cabinet commissioned this portrait of himself which still hangs in the seat of Government of the Republic of Macedonia, alongside somewhat smaller paintings of other former prime ministers. PHOTO: Public domain.
Evading a two-year prison sentence for corruption, <PERSON>, the former prime minister of Macedonia, has sought refuge in Hungary.
<PERSON> went missing on Thursday 8 November, when the six bodyguards he had hand-picked from the Ministry of Interior allegedly last had contact with him. <PERSON> had been involved in protracted legal procedures to delay serving a two-year prison sentence in a case code-named Tank that charged him with abuse of office. His lawyers filed numerous appeals after the Supreme Court confirmed his verdict in October.
<PERSON> was supposed to have reported to prison by Monday 12 November. On Tuesday 13 November, however, he announced on Facebook that he had relocated to Budapest as he had been receiving threats. He has applied for political asylum in Hungary.
The escape has caused an uproar in Macedonia and the region, as the public demands answers about how and why the former strongman managed to pull it off.
While <PERSON>'s escape was unprecedented in Macedonian history, his choice of destination wasn’t too surprising. 363
Over a year ago, Global Voices reported that <PERSON> may have made a deal with Hungary’s prime minister <PERSON> for Hungary to provide refuge for fugitives connected to abuses of power by <PERSON>'s regime.
<PERSON> and <PERSON> have a history of cooperation. Hungarian banks have been involved in corrupt deals for siphoning Macedonian taxpayers’ money. The two leaders exploited the 2015 refugee crisis to create xenophobic hysteria for joint political gains, waged coordinated campaigns against civil society, and engaged in financial machinations related to funding party propaganda.
“As prime minister, I stole, cheated and lied, this is why I'm being persecuted in my country. Will you take me in?”
“We are always happy to welcome those who share our culture!”
HVG cartoonist <PERSON> on <PERSON> seeking asylum in Hungary.#Hungary #Macedonia pic.twitter.com/xq8MGfD4L7
— <PERSON> (@fbieber) November 14, 2018
At European Union level, the two leaders’ populist parties, VMRO-DPMNE and Fidesz, have a history of using their membership in the European People’s Party (EPP), a pan-European association of right-wing political parties, to minimize or delay international community response to abuses within their countries.
Demands for responsibility
These escapes to Hungary have been enabled by the Macedonian judiciary, which decided against detaining suspects in many ongoing corruption cases. Over the last several years, European Union reports have indicated that <PERSON>’s party had been undermining the independence of the courts by filling them with regime loyalists.
In a country which has been steeped in conspiracy theories for decades, many have wondered if the current government had made some sort of deal to let <PERSON> go, in exchange for his party's support in parliament on name issue agreement with Greece, a matter that has been the subject of media speculation for several months.
Eerie!
Fokus weekly cover from 23. August 2018.
The title of the cover article reads (in #Macedonian):
“Will the Government Allow <PERSON> to Escape into Hungary if VMRO MP's Support the Name Agreement?”
They did and he did!
As I say – eerie!#Macedoniahttps://t.co/1lc3A7uTdK pic.twitter.com/qBc8stnSa8
— <PERSON> (@VPetreski) November 13, 2018
On Wednesday 14 November, however, Macedonian prime minister <PERSON> vehemently denied the allegations of a political deal with <PERSON>.
Other citizens, including legal and human rights experts, have demanded that the government assume responsibility for the embarrassing scandal, and have expressed disappointment with the government they had voted into power on the promise of a return to the rule of law.
МВР чека види каде е Груевски. 363