"There is no evidence for the defendants in the case of the modular hospital" pointed out the defense at today's closing arguments in the Basic Court of Tetovo
The Public Prosecutor's Office of Tetovo, in today's closing arguments for the Tetovo Modular Hospital case, asked the court to declare guilty the accused Florim Besimi, Artan Etemi, doctor Boban Vucevski, as well as the legal entity Tetovo Clinical Hospital. The defense, on the other hand, believes that the accused did not contribute to the tragedy and requested their release
Who is to blame for the fire in the modular hospital, the relatives of the deceased will not receive an answer through this accusation, the fault should be sought, among other things, in the electrical installation, which was improperly installed, but also in the insulation of the building itself, and not in whether or not there were no PP devices, pointed out the defense of the first defendant, Florim Besimi, who is charged with the crime of serious crimes against public security.
"Florim Besimi, as the director of the hospital, had no obligation to install PP devices, he was in charge of the quality of services, the organization of the hospital, etc. But some of the witnesses who testified that they did not see PP devices when the fire broke out were not in the other rooms or in some other rooms to see if there was fire protection, but were found only in the rooms of their relatives. That's why the court has nothing left but to pass an acquittal," said the defense of Florim Besimi.
The defense of the second defendant Artan Etemi pointed out that it is a frivolous accusation without legal weight.
"The accused is not charged with causing the fire, but with other crimes. I would like to emphasize that it is a fire in semi-fabricated containers. We demand that the accused be acquitted of the crime he is accused of, which the Public Prosecutor's Office did not prove," said the defense of the second accused, Artan Etemi.
The basic court of Tetovo can determine from the evidence that there were PP devices in the modular hospital, pointed out in the closing arguments of the defense of the legal entity "Clinical Hospital Tetovo", which is charged with crimes of causing public danger and not acting according to health regulations during an epidemic.
"Part of the employees who were in several rooms in their statements indicated that they saw PP devices in the premises of the modular hospital and that evidence should be taken into account as reliable, unlike other witnesses who said that there were no PP devices, but they were present in the hospital in certain cases and only in some rooms. The prosecution failed to prove whether the fire would have been extinguished if there had been fire extinguishers. People entered the modular building to visit their relatives arbitrarily, and the employees told them to leave the facility," the defense of the legal entity Clinical Hospital Tetovo pointed out in the closing words.
And the doctor's defense Boban Vucevski who is charged with the crime of not acting according to health regulations during an epidemic, requested an acquittal because the Public Prosecution, as he pointed out, failed to prove the doctor's guilt.
From the Public Prosecutor's Office, they say that the charges against the defendants have been proven in the court process.
"Witnesses testified that on the night when the fire broke out, they wanted to intervene, but they could not find PP devices. Some of the employees pointed out that Dr. Boban Vucevski was the head of the modular unit, he gave them orders, and relatives of patients entered the hospital freely. Also, the inspection of the SSO proved that no PP devices were found on the spot. That's why we demand that the court declare them guilty and that mitigating and aggravating circumstances be taken into account, the Public Prosecutor's Office pointed out in its closing words.
During the closing statements, legal representatives of some of the relatives of the deceased asked for compensation and said that they are joining the criminal prosecution.
Before today's hearing and this morning there was a gathering in support of Dr. Boban Vucevski.
The doctor was available to patients 24 hours a day, instead of being rewarded, he came out as a victim, say the tattooists. They pointed out that the blame for the fire should be sought elsewhere.
The fire in the modular hospital on September 8, 2021 killed 14 people. In October 2021, after the expert opinion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor's Office informed that the fire in the modular building was caused by a burning extension cable, to which a resuscitation device was connected.
The verdict in the case will be announced on Monday, June 5.
