February 06, 2019 - 6:33 AM
SKOPJE, Macedonia - Macedonian prosecutors investigating how a former prime minister convicted of corruption managed to flee to Hungary before he could be imprisoned to serve a two-year sentence say they have found no evidence he received help from any officials.
The prosecutor's office said Wednesday they analyzed 60 phone numbers of individuals suspected of having communicated with Nikola Gruevski before he fled in November. They interviewed 56 people, including 28 police officers, six bodyguards and five Interior Ministry officials.
Gruevski, 48, turned up at the Hungarian embassy in Tirana, Albania, last November, requesting political asylum. In his first media interview since his escape, Gruevski said last weekend he fled because he was told by "reliable people" he would be "liquidated" in jail.
Macedonia has issued an international arrest warrant and filed an extradition request to Hungarian authorities.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019