Overview
- Prosecutors began reading an indictment that spans private operators and public officials, including the club owner, a security firm, a construction company, inspectors, police, and former officeholders.
- The charges center on serious crimes against public security, with potential sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment.
- Authorities say flares lit during a hip-hop performance ignited the ceiling of the overcrowded Pulse club in Kocani, which lacked a proper licence and adequate exits and extinguishers.
- Dozens of victims’ relatives attended as defendants were brought to the Skopje courtroom in handcuffs, and the presiding judge pledged transparency in the proceedings.
- The court set the next hearing for November 25, as families press for swift justice following months of marches and calls for a separate parliamentary inquiry.