The Public Prosecutor's Office has finished presenting its evidence in the trial over the fire at the Puls nightclub in Kochani: 1,309 pieces of physical evidence, 45 witnesses and five expert witnesses. Now it is the defence's turn - and it is coming with a list of 244 witnesses, proposed by the lawyers for 34 individual defendants and three companies.

The first hearing for the defence's evidence is scheduled for today, in the courtroom at Idrizovo. According to the President of the Skopje Basic Criminal Court, Daniela Dimovska, 49 hearings have been held so far and not one has been postponed. Another 15 are scheduled by the end of the year - six in October, five in November and four in December, the last one on 24 December.

The right to a defence is sacred, and no reasonable person disputes it. But the maths is simple: if the prosecution needed 49 hearings for 45 witnesses and five experts, how many years will 244 defence witnesses take?

A detention that runs out by itself

Meanwhile, on Saturday 3 October, the legal detention period expires for the main defendant, Dejan Jovanov - Deko, the owner of the nightclub. For offences carrying a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison, the law says detention cannot last longer than one year. The defence has offered a property guarantee of almost 200,000 euros, arguing that the public should be reassured Jovanov will not flee the country, even though such a guarantee is not mandatory at this stage.

The court, however, cannot rule on the guarantee without an opinion from the Public Prosecutor's Office, and the opinion has not arrived. "As of today they have not come back from the prosecutor's office. There is no opinion, and we cannot decide. It expires on 3 October. We will wait until Friday," the Criminal Court said. On Saturday the court will decide on its own initiative what measures it will use to secure Jovanov's attendance at the hearings.

The deadline is no secret - prosecutors and defence lawyers alike know the law. The case is handled by a team of 15 public prosecutors. So why, a few days before the deadline, does the court still have no answer from them? And what exactly will the court be ruling on on Saturday, if the prosecution has no position?

In the fire on 16 March 2025, during a concert by the band DNK, 63 people died and more than 200 were injured, according to figures cited in the trial. Justice for them does not mean a quick verdict at any cost. It means a process that does not fall apart over expiring deadlines, late opinions and hearings counted in years.