Skopje: 39 years in prison against accused of bus accident in 2019

The Skopje Criminal Court has sentenced on Thursday to 39 years in prison, the six people charged with a bus accident in 2019 near Lascarc, Gostivar, whose death resulted in 16 people.

The bus driver, Manil Trifunovski, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, while the company's chief “Durmo Tours”, Durmish Beluli, has been sentenced to four years in prison.

With six years in prison, it has been convicted of responsibility for transport to the company, Remzi Miftari, while five years in prison employees of the company's technical centre -- Igor Djordjeevski, Goran Dukovski and Jane Boraski -- have been sentenced.

The heavy road accident had occurred on the Skopje-Tetovo highway, when a bus traveling to Gostivar had left the road and rolled into a ditch along the highway.

There have been about 50 people on the bus, mostly administration employees and others returning to their homes.

The court has pronounced for all defendants a secondary sentence - preventing the performance of the event during the duration of five years.

The prosecution has called for the detention measure for the accused until taking the firm form act, while the defence has called for easier measures, for the fact that some of the convicts are already under security measures.

This accident had caused numerous reactions to the opinion, due to the extension of the judicial procedure and “allegations of political influence aimed at saving certain persons and throwing guilt solely on bus driver”.

The trial had also jeopardised the retrial due to the appointment of the court of the case at the Court of Appeals.

But after the defense party's response, family members, and a broader opinion, the judge has returned to the office to decide on the case. / REL/.