North Macedonia's Controversial 2017 Parliament Attack: Amnesty Law Overturns Convictions

Four former officials from North Macedonia's VMRO-DPMNE party were released after their convictions for a 2017 violent parliament attack were overturned. The court applied a 2018 amnesty law. The incident, involving about 200 protesters, marked a major political challenge, intensifying debates over legal amnesty for political figures.

Four former officials from North Macedonia's conservative VMRO-DPMNE party have been released, their convictions for orchestrating a violent assault on parliament in 2017 overturned by a court in Skopje. The decision was based on the application of a 2018 amnesty law.

The April 2017 attack saw roughly 200 protesters storm parliament, incensed by the election of an ethnic Albanian speaker and a proposed coalition government. The chaos left dozens, including lawmakers and journalists, injured.

The officials affected by the court's decision include former parliamentary speaker Trajko Veljanovski, ex-Cabinet ministers Spiro Ristovski and Mile Janakieski, and Vladimir Atanasovski, a former national security head. Their release has further fueled divisions in a nation still grappling with political instability since its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Critics argue the amnesty protects influential figures, exacerbating tensions ahead of the current government's return to power last year following seven years in opposition.

(With inputs from agencies.)