On January 23, 2025, the Basic Criminal Court of Skopje decided to acquit former Parliamentary Speaker Trajko Veljanovski, former ministers Spiro Ristovski and Mile Janakievski, and the former Director of the Directorate for Security and Counterintelligence, Vladimir Atanasovski.

These individuals were charged with “terrorist endangerment of the constitutional order and security” related to the violent events in the Macedonian Parliament on April 27, 2017.

The court’s decision was based on the opinion of the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption, which recommended applying the 2018 Amnesty Law. Judge Ilija Trpkov stated that although he and the judicial council personally believed that the legislators’ intent was not to amnesty the organizers, the provisions of the Amnesty Law allowed for such an interpretation.

On July 26, 2021, the Criminal Court of Skopje had sentenced the same individuals to a total of 25 years in prison for the same offense. Trajko Veljanovski was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months, Spiro Ristovski and Mile Janakievski to 6 years and 3 months each, and Vladimir Atanasovski to 6 years in prison.

The events of April 27, 2017, known as “Bloody Thursday,” involved violent protesters storming the Parliament of North Macedonia, attacking MPs and journalists in an attempt to prevent the election of a new parliamentary speaker.