The Ministry of Justice of North Macedonia announced on Monday that it is seeking the extradition from Hungary of the former prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, who left for the country in 2018.
Gruevsky was granted asylum in Hungary in November 2018 due to claims he was persecuted by the government of then-prime minister Zoran Zaev.
“Until now, an extradition request was sent for Nikola Gruevski in November 2018 and another in June 2019. The extradition request includes all cases for which we are aware that proceedings are underway before the Macedonian judicial bodies, namely for all the procedures for which an arrest warrant has been issued”, the Ministry stated, referring to the now third extradition request.
His claims have been dismissed by the Macedonian government, which wants Gruevski to serve several prison terms totalling 12 years. He has two final judgements against him, one in the first degree and several ongoing court cases against him.
Gruevski was prime minister and leader of the VMRO-DPMNE party from 2006 until January 2016, when he resigned. In May of that year, he was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of corruption, but instead of turning up to serve his sentence, he fled.
Gruevski is known for his pro-Serbian, pro-Russian, and anti-EU stance, and he is anti-the 2017 Friendship treaty signed with Bulgaria and the Prespa agreement signed with Greece in 2018.
In April 2022, he was placed on the US sanctions list. He was sentenced to another seven years in absentia in Skopje on charges of money laundering and illegally acquiring and concealing state property.
He currently faces some 25 years in prison for two final judgements, including one of the first degree. There are also several open cases against him.
In June 2022, Skopje criminal court confiscated the headquarters of VMRO-DPNE due to reports of illegal construction. The court said the construction company that built the property had 70% of their revenue from the state budget, contrary to the law on financing political parties.
The current chairman of VMRO DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, said the judicial decision is political and influenced by the current government.
Hungary rejected the extradition request on October 5, 2019, because Nikola Gruevski was granted asylum. According to Hungarian law, a person cannot be extradited to the country from which he fled.
