SKOPJE, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Former Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski on Wednesday was sentenced two-year in prison for acquiring personal gain and aiding a crime.
Gruevski, alongside with the former minister of interior Gordana Jankuloska, were charged over the procurement of a new Mercedes car worth more than 600,000 euros (703,000 U.S. dollars).
The judge Dobrila Kacarska declared that the defendants must compensate the damages incurred in the case within 15 days from the final verdict.
Meanwhile, the judge sentenced as well the former assistant minister of interior Gjoko Popovski to six-and-a-half years in prison for abuse of office.
According to the judgment, Gruevski influenced the other two defendants by asking the former minister of interior to purchase the Mercedes, while the latter stimulated the former assistant minister into favoring car dealer Mak Auto Star in Skopje during the procurement procedure.
Gruevski was absent when the verdict was handed, but he was represented by his lawyers. Outside the court, a group of his supporters protested his conviction.
