Hungary rejects extradition of N. Macedonia’s ex-leader
North Macedonia's former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski remains in Hungary as asylum seeker
BELGRADE, Serbia
A court in Hungary refused to extradite the fugitive former prime minister of North Macedonia.
According to local news portal a1on, the verdict was read out on Thursday morning in the presence of Nikola Gruevski, former premier of North Macedonia.
The hearing was closed to the media, but the decision was publicly announced.
North Macedonia had requested its former Prime Minister Gruevski's extradition from Hungary in late 2018, to face justice in his home country.
Gruevski, who was sentenced to two years in prison over corruption charges, had escaped to Hungary and sought political asylum.
The former prime minister left North Macedonia on Nov. 11 and arrived in Hungary through Albania, Montenegro and Serbia, with the help of Hungarian diplomatic staff in those countries.
Gruevski is a long-standing leader of the right-wing party and has served as a prime minister for nearly 10 years. He was widely accused of authoritarian behavior and of fostering corruption.
He maintains that he is the victim of a political setup, and claims that he would have been assassinated if he were in jail.
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