Trial begins in North Macedonia nightclub fire that killed 63 people

Thirty-five people and three institutions are on trial following a devastating fire at a nightclub in North Macedonia in March that killed 63 people, mainly young people.

“I understand the pain of loved ones, we are all parents,” Judge Diana Groveska-Ilievska told a packed courtroom filled with relatives of the defendants and dozens of victims. She promised the case would be conducted in a transparent and disciplined manner.

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

Prosecutors told the trial that years of failure had left the club in a death trap.

Three former mayors of Kokanee, a nightclub owner and a public licensing officer were among those charged.

They were accused of endangering public safety by allowing an unsafe premises to operate.

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

Defense attorneys sought to delay the start of proceedings as the charges were consolidated into a single case. The judge rejected their request, ruling that it “did not infringe any of the rights of the parties”.

At the time of the tragedy, authorities said there was only one functioning exit inside the club because the back door was locked.

Sparks from the pyrotechnics quickly spread across the club’s ceiling, which was made of flammable materials.

There were about 500 people in the club at the time, resulting in 59 deaths and about 200 injuries. Four of the injured later died. Many people were unable to escape as exits were blocked.

Anger after the fire sparked protests in the Macedonian capital Skopje and elsewhere, with victims’ families organizing a march locally in Kokanyi.

Days before the trial begins, another protest called the “Angel March” was held in Skopje, spurred by the Macedonian social media campaign “Who’s next?”

Prosecutors said during the trial that the Kokanee disaster was not caused by one person’s actions or mistakes, but by a series of institutional failures and lack of responsibility.

Prosecutor Borsh Janev said none of the defendants wanted to face the dangers that had been present for years.

Prosecutors allege the club’s license was issued illegally, without inspections and there was overcrowding at the venue.

Another allegation is that the band failed to obtain a permit to set off a pyrotechnic device, causing the fire.

Local media quoted Janev as saying in court: “If we remain silent and lose the truth… as a society we will never have the power to embark on the path to healing.”