Charged over alleged damage of 9.7 million euros, greeted with flares and smoke bombs: Grubi leaves house arrest, his lawyers apologise to the public

Former first deputy prime minister Artan Grubi was out of reach of Macedonia's justice system for more than 14 months. On Tuesday evening, when he walked out of house arrest, he was greeted in Skopje's Čair district by flares, smoke bombs and fireworks. Within hours the footage had done the rounds on social media - and in some of it Grubi can be seen sitting in a restaurant with a large group of people.

The next day his lawyers distanced themselves. The gathering, they say, was "spontaneous, in front of Artan Grubi's home, with no speeches, no messages and no political symbols", Grubi took no part in organising it, and the defence "apologises to all citizens who may have been disturbed" by "the spontaneous event lasting a few minutes". Spontaneous, then - but with the pyrotechnics ready to go.

Why he is free. The Criminal Court lifted the measure because the maximum period of 60 days after the indictment was filed, as set by the Law on Criminal Procedure, had run out. That is not an acquittal. The court rejected his request to get his passport back, despite an offered property guarantee of 335,707 euros. Grubi may not leave his place of residence, must report to the court periodically and is barred from contact with certain people.

He is the second defendant in the "State Lottery" case, charged with abuse of office. According to the indictment, in 2023 and 2024, through the procurement of video lottery terminals and arrangements for electronic gambling, the state company suffered damage of 596,125,511 denars, or around 9.7 million euros. Also charged are former director Përparim Bajrami and six others. At the hearings Grubi said he does not consider himself guilty. The trial began on August 24.

His history with the justice system has been anything but ordinary. After fleeing to Kosovo, he turned himself in at the Blace border crossing on February 23, 2026. Instead of custody, after a few hours in Šutka prison he was moved to house arrest - prosecutors at the time cited intelligence that his safety and that of his family would be seriously at risk in the remand prison.

The political reactions weren't long in coming. VLEN, the Albanian coalition in government, called the welcome political theatre and asked "Where is Ahmeti's flare for Grubi?", claiming the DUI leader wants to present the replacement of custody as his personal achievement.

The court respected the legal deadline, and there's no fault to find in that. The question is a different one: what message does the state send when a man charged over damage of nearly ten million euros, who previously fled justice, comes home under pyrotechnics - and the only response is an apology from his lawyers? Will the police at least check who lit flares in the middle of a residential area?