Trial begins in North Macedonia nightclub fire that killed 63 people

In North Macedonia, 35 people and three organizations are on trial over a devastating fire at a nightclub in March that killed 63 people, mainly young people.

“I know the pain of my loved ones. We are all parents,” Judge Diana Gruevska-Ilievska told a courtroom packed with the defendants and dozens of victims’ relatives. She promised that the case would be conducted transparently and disciplinedly.

Club Pulse in the eastern town of Kocani was packed with young Macedonians attending a concert by the popular hip-hop duo when sparks from a pyrotechnic device ignited the ceiling.

Prosecutors said at trial that years of failure had led the club into a death trap.

Those indicted included three former Kokanee mayors, a nightclub owner and a public licensing official.

They have been accused of endangering public safety by operating unsafe locations.

The judge warned the court the trial could last “five months or five years.”

Defense attorneys attempted to delay the start of the lawsuit as the charges were combined into one case. The judge rejected this, saying, “It does not infringe on any of the rights of the parties.”

At the time of the incident, the club’s back door was locked and only one proper exit was functioning, authorities said.

Sparks from the fireworks quickly spread to the club’s ceiling, which is made of flammable materials.

There were about 500 people inside the club at the time, and 59 people were killed and over 200 were injured. Four of the injured later died. Many people were unable to escape because the exits were blocked.

Anger following the fire sparked protests in the Macedonian capital Skopje and elsewhere, and victims’ families organized a local march in Kočani itself.

A few days before the trial began, another protest titled “March of Angels” was held in Skopje, organized by a Macedonian social media campaign called “Who’s next?”

Prosecutors said at trial that the Kochani disaster was not the result of the actions or mistakes of one person, but rather a series of institutional failures and lack of accountability.

According to prosecutor Borche Janev, none of the defendants wanted to face the danger that had existed for years.

Prosecutors alleged that club permits were issued illegally, that inspections were not carried out and that overcrowding at the venue was allowed.

Another claim is that the band did not have permission to set off the pyrotechnic device that started the fire.

“If we remain silent and lose the truth… our society will never have the strength to begin the path to healing,” local media quoted Zanev as telling the court.