Nikola Gruevski says Hungary gave him asylum

The government of Hungary granted asylum to Nikola Gruevski, once the most powerful politician in Macedonia, according to a post the former prime minister shared on Facebook on Tuesday.

Gruevski claimed his asylum application was based on the threat of political persecution under the government led by his rival Zoran Zaev.

"Today the Republic of Hungary, a member of the EU and NATO, gave a positive response to my earlier request to be granted political asylum," he wrote. "I have decided to fight for the Macedonian cause, for the cause of the Republic of Macedonia, in the only way possible at the moment."

The 48-year-old politician, who led Macedonia from 2006 to 2016, received a two-year prison sentence on corruption charges earlier this year. Gruevski said his life would be in danger if he went to prison due to an alleged government conspiracy to assassinate him.

"Until the very last moment, although I have seen all these instances of being unjustly blamed and persecuted (…) I have faced justice like nobody before, until the moment that the current government had decided to unjustly and politically put me in jail and subsequently assassinate me," he wrote.

Orban ally

Budapest has not yet issued a confirmation of asylum. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party previously said that Gruevski was "persecuted and threatened by a left-wing government, which clearly has the support of [US investor and Orban nemesis] George Soros."

Read more: Macedonia's ex-PM threatens foreign ambassadors, NGOs

Despite having his personal and diplomatic passport confiscated, Gruevski was able to flee Macedonia last week. Hungary denied helping him escape, although police forces in Albania and Macedonia said Hungarian diplomats helped transport him through Serbia.

The government in Skopje submitted an official protest to the Hungarian Embassy over Gruevski's escape and said they have sent all necessary papers for his extradition.

"We expect that the authorities in Budapest unconditionally accept the extradition request," they said.

Macedonian authorities have also detained at least three officials from Gruevski's former administration to eliminate risk of their escape.

dj/rt (AFP, Makfax, AP, Reuters)

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