Marjan Stamenkovski, the owner of the web portal “Dokaz M”, is facing trial tomorrow in the Criminal Court in Skopje for several criminal offenses. Recently, the Skopje Public Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Stamenkovski, accusing him of committing crimes through his web portal, including spreading racist and xenophobic material, extortion, piracy of audiovisual content, and abuse of personal data. The charges stem from several reports of victims made throughout 2022 and the beginning of 2023 related to the content published on Stamenkovski’s web portal.
According to the prosecutor’s explanation, Stamenkovski used the web portal to threaten an individual with revealing damaging information about him unless he received money. He also pirated audiovisual content without authorization and published several articles inciting hatred and intolerance towards two priests. Additionally, he published defamatory articles and photos of two journalists and tried to obtain confidential information about ongoing investigations from an investigator.
During a search of Stamenkovski’s home, law enforcement discovered €90,000 ($102,000) in cash, as well as documentation that could reveal other parties involved in the crimes. Another case has been opened to investigate where Stamenkovski acquired the money.
The victims in the case testified to the prosecutor that they believed Stamenkovski’s web portal aimed to censor them and applied unfair pressure. The trial will determine Stamenkovski’s guilt or innocence and his punishment if found guilty.
