Last week, the Skopje Criminal Court acquitted defendants Dragan Pavlovic-Llatas and YouTuber Stefan Lazarov, in whose podcast the guest spoke about the abuse and rape of a girl. In doing so, Pavlovic-Llatas and Stefan Lazarov laughed at the violence. The controversial podcast was recorded, or rather broadcast, on February 14, 2023, Gazeta Express reports from Portalb.mk.
Initially, both received a guilty verdict at the Skopje Criminal Court, but after filing appeals, the judges of the criminal department of the Skopje Court of Appeal overturned the verdict and sent it back for a retrial.
The court confirmed to Sdk.mk that in the retrial, the judge Dijana Gruevska-Ilievska issued a decision of acquittal. Both were acquitted of the charges in accordance with Article 403, paragraph 1, point 1 of the Law on Criminal Procedure. According to the aforementioned article, the offense they are accused of is not a criminal offense.
Prosecutor Daniel Kocev will file an appeal with the Skopje Court of Appeal.
Following the podcast of February 14, 2023, the Cybercrime Sector of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) immediately sent a notification to the Skopje Prosecutor's Office, an investigation was opened, and the podcast was removed from YouTube.
The Basic Public Prosecutor's Office (PP) Skopje filed a lawsuit before the competent court against journalist Dragan Pavlović-Llatas and YouTuber Stefan Lazarov for the criminal offense of Dissemination of racist and xenophobic material through a computer system under Article 394-d, paragraph 1, in conjunction with Article 22 of the Criminal Code. Both are accused of spreading a racist and xenophobic representation of an idea that promotes violence against women through a computer system, thus causing reactions and a feeling of disgust and anxiety in the public.
Measures were also taken to ensure the presence of the defendants; the same court that has now issued an acquittal had previously confiscated Llatas' passport.
In response to the interview, the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (ASHG), the Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SPGPM), and the Media Ethics Council of Macedonia (KEMM) condemned the speech as inciting violence and stimulating gender discrimination.
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