The Criminal Court is to announce the verdict on Zahir Bekjiri-Caus and his brother Imer on Tuesday, both suspected in the 'Affairs Factory' case involving printing false ID cards, passports and other documents.
Prosecutor Natasa Godzoska said in her closing statement that the experts' testimonies would confirm if additional data were planted in the computer and electronic devices found at Caus' home during a police raid, but such a move was not determined. The statement refers to the expert analysis conducted over the computer devices where more than 70,000 recording of illegally wiretapped conversations were discovered and a database of stolen identities of more than 120,000 citizens.
The defense attorney, Miroslav Vujic, said the indictment is a result of a three-month scenario and that everything had started with the search of Zekiri's home on December 18, 2015, when the probe was carried out under suspicion of drug possession, but officials seized computers, USB devices and laptops. Contrary to the prosecution, Vujic claimed that the data found in the computers was planted. He requested the acquittal of Zahir and Imer Bekiri.
In court, both defendants pleaded not guilty for the crimes they are indicted with. Caus and his brother are charged for manufacturing and purchasing weapons, and other devices for committing criminal acts, forging personal documents, and abuse of personal data.
.jpg)
The trial on the 'Affairs Factory' case kicked off in April this year, with journalist Ljubisa Arsic as the main witness, who first published the affair in Focus weekly, after an anonymous source gave him 105 forged IDs, wrapped in paper, saying they were forged and printed on two locations, that police knew about it, and that there are around 30,000 forged personal IDs used during elections.
"That was enough for me to investigate the case. Firstly, I took the IDs to the Interior Ministry and filed a report, and two days later I published my first article on the case. Then, it was important not to be focused on the IDs only, but to start investigating more broadly - who are the people on the IDs' photographs, whether they exist, is the personal information theirs, and are they true, and to try to answer the dilemma if these IDs have made their way to the elections," Arsic said.
He said in court that 7 months after this event, he is still unfamiliar, as well as the magazine, who, where, and with what goal the IDs were made, was it ordered, and did anyone pay for their printing. He did not state who handed him the IDs. When asked by the prosecution whether he is familiar with the identity of the person, Arsic said the source will remain anonymous.
Dozens of citizens, whose personal information was abused for the manufacture of the forged IDs also testified. The common element in all statements was that the persons did not know their data was used to print the IDs.
Expert witnesses from the computer crime and digital forensic department with the Interior Ministry also testified before the court.
Caus is currently serving prison sentence in Idrizovo for another criminal act.
After the searches conducted on seven locations in Skopje and the surrounding area, as well as Caus's prison cell in Idrizovo, investigators found a large arsenal of weapons, laptops, cell phones, USB devices, and different types documents.
During the initial raids of his home in December last year, more than 70,000 recorded phone conversations were discovered, which according to the findings, were supposed to be used as a blackmailing material against businessmen and politicians.