site.btaFirst Hearing on Case of Deadly Fire in Nightclub in North Macedonia to Take Place on Nov. 19

The first hearing on the case of the deadly fire at the Pulse nightclub in Kocani is scheduled for November 19, Skopje's Criminal Court reported on Thursday. The tragedy claimed 63 lives, and more than people were injured after a blaze broke out at the Pulse nightclub in Kocani, North Macedonia, in the early hours of March 16.

The trial, involving 34 individuals and three legal entities with 30 lawyers, will be held in the courtroom at the Idrizovo correctional facility.

A press release distributed by the parents and loved ones of the victims reads: "Our pain will be eternal, but our struggle is also for all future generations. Such a tragedy must never happen again. We ask the public, the media, and the institutions to follow this trial with the necessary attention, because this is not just a trial concerning a fire – it is a trial that concerns humanity, conscience, and responsibility."

The parents announced that they will suspend their daily one-hour blockades at one of the intersections in Kocani but will continue with the March for the Angels, which takes place every Saturday in the city.

Skopje's Criminal Court has announced six more dates for hearings on the case until the end of the year, with the clarification that more hearings will be scheduled after the trial begins.

Even before the start of the trial, pointed letters were exchanged between the prosecution and some of the defence lawyers. The lawyers assessed the indictment as vague and unclear and predicted that the trial will be lengthy, while the prosecution sent a letter to the Bar Association requesting that the defence refrain from public statements until the start of the trial. The defence responded that the request was an attempt to have them silenced.

An article in prizma.mk suggests that the legal qualification, the number of defendants, and the time period to which it relates make this indictment one of the most delicate in recent judicial history. The text continues: "The fact that all defendants are accused of being directly responsible for the fire at Pulse with their inaction over a period of 13 years has caused reactions from part of the legal community, which warns of the risk of the indictment remaining in place."

So far, none of the defendants have pleaded guilty. All of them have been accused of being directly responsible for the fire. The prosecution claims that the tragedy is the result of years of continuous inaction by multiple institutions, which were run by then ministers, mayors, and inspectors.