North Macedonia Dismisses Judge Blacklisted by US

Judge Enver Behxheti. Photo: Skopje Appeals Court. The Judicial Council in North Macedonia has dismissed a US-sanctioned judge, Enver Bexheti, citing “a serious disciplinary violation” that renders him unfit for office, the decision published on Thursday said. The council noted “actions that damage public trust”, and “behaviour harming the reputation of the judiciary”. Bexheti’s removal follows the imposition of US sanctions on him last year. He has not commented publicly on the allegations so far. In December 2024, the US State Department placed Bexheti and North Macedonia’s former First Deputy Prime Minister, Artan Grubi, on its blacklist “for their involvement in significant corruption, by accepting bribes to undermine judicial processes tied to the criminal conviction of Saso Mijalkov”, former head of North Macedonia’s secret police. Mijalkov, who faced trial in several major court cases in past years but is now free, was put on the US blacklist in 2022, also for involvement in significant corruption. He was a key figure in controversies in the country over illegal surveillance, abuse of power, and corruption. Earlier, an investigative commission found that Bexheti had kept the Mijalkov case file in a drawer for more than nine months, allegedly delaying its progress so that the case would expire under the statute of limitations, then happened. In his defence before the Judicial Council, Bexheti pointed out that he currently faces no criminal or disciplinary charges over this matter, and argued that the US blacklist is not legally binding in North Macedonia. He also claimed that the long delays in handling the Mijalkov case were due in part to the challenges of managing an exceptionally high caseload during the COVID‑19 pandemic, including complex cases, such as Mijalkov’s wiretapping case. Meanwhile, there is still no information about the whereabouts of former deputy Prime Minister Grubi who was backlisted along with Bexheti for the same reasons. Days after the US backlisted both men, North Macedonia’s authorities said they also suspected Grubi in an unrelated case, concerning the alleged embezzlement of assets from the state lottery, after which he vanished without trace. Amid unconfirmed speculation that he may be hiding out in neighbouring Kosovo, or Albania, the arrest warrant for him is still active.