The Macedonian state prosecutor has formally indicted the leading opposition politician over his role in a surveillance scandal that has challenged the nine-year rule of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.
The prosecutor said in a statement published April 30 that Zoran Zaev, leader of the opposition Social Democrats, would be charged with "violence against representatives of the highest state bodies." The statement said four other people had been indicted.
The charges relate to a series of wiretaps that Zaev has published purporting to show Gruevski and other senior officials conspiring to choose judges and employ members of their own party in state jobs.
Zaev says he received the recordings from a whistle-blower. He faces up to four years in jail.
The wiretapping scandal has tarnished Macedonia's reputation with the EU and international watchdogs for upholding the rule of law and protecting press freedoms.
