Puls: Prosecutors Bring 83 Points of Evidence Against Nine Police Officers, on How an Unlicensed Venue Operated for Years

More than a year after the fire at the "Puls" nightclub in Kochani, in which around sixty young people died, the court is finally examining the evidence against those who were supposed to prevent it. Prosecutors have presented a list of 83 points of evidence against nine accused police officers.

According to the indictment, through abuse of their official position and powers, they enabled the "Puls" nightclub to obtain an operating permit even though it did not meet the legal requirements. At the trial, police records from inspections of the venue were entered as evidence - documents on the checks carried out, the breaches of public order established, and the minors recorded in the vicinity.

The nine accused - Dimche Avramov, Jane Trajchev, Aleksandar Atanasov, Vlatko Iliev, Aleksandar Temelkov, Goce Ristov, Bobi Gidiovski, Vlatko Naumov and Goce Ivanov - are charged with abuse of official duty. This is one of three trials linked to the tragedy, and the defence claims that part of the evidence has nothing to do with the indictment.

The heart of this case isn't the number of points of evidence, but the question that haunts a whole country: how did an unlicensed venue operate for years, despite inspections, reports and checks? When a system that existed on paper didn't work on the ground, responsibility must not end at the lowest rung. The families who lost their own are waiting to see whether justice will reach everyone who signed off and looked the other way - or only a handful.