High Profile A1 Trial Begins in Macedonia

After spending five months in detention, where he has complained of ill treatment, Ramkovski appeared in Skopje District Court as his trial got underway on Monday.

The proceedings were immediately postponed until June 13 to give more time to the defense to review all the evidence submitted by the prosecution, at their request.

This means that the trial will resume after the June 5 general elections in the country.

The court also decided that the trial could not be recorded on videocamera. Ramkovski’s lawyer Miroslav Vujic had asked for the trial to be taped “in order to eliminate all speculation regarding the case".

Ramkovski, who has maintained his innocence, faces charges ranging from tax evasion to money laundering. He is on trial with a number of associates and family members.

Ramkovski, together with his daughter, brother and several other defendants in the case, were brought in from Skopje detention prison on Monday, while others were brought in from house arrest.

The police are still searching for the son of Ramkovski and five other individuals related to this case. The court will try them in absentia.

The trial was launched today under increased security and heavy police presence inside and around the court building. Many relatives and friends of the defendants were present at the session.

The session included several remarks by Ramkovski, who said that he eagerly awaits the June 5 election defeat of the ruling VMRO DPMNE party of PM Nikola Gruevski.

The case against Ramkovski has been the source of dispute between the indictee and the government in recent months.

Ramkovski accuses Gruevski of mounting a political case against him out of revenge for turning his back on the government.

His A1 TV accuses Prime Minister Gruevski's cabinet of trying to shut down the station, which is seen as critical of the government. Gruevski has denied the accusations.

Once seen as close to Gruevski’s VMRO DPMNE party during the 2006 elections, when his party came to power, Ramkovski and his A1 are now critical of the government’s work.

After a snap general election in 2008, when Gruevski again pulled off a landslide victory, the TV station began to distance itself from the ruling party.

This gradually developed into an open confrontation, generating much anger on the government side. In 2010, VMRO DPMNE began accusing the TV station of deliberately distorting the truth.

Although not registered under his name, Ramkovski has said he owns three daily newspapers, Spic, Vreme and Koha e Re. Ramkovski’s name is also connected to dozens of other companies in the country.