SKOPJE, March 8 (Xinhua) -- North Macedonia's Criminal Court sentenced former director of the Administration for Security and Counterintelligence Saso Mijalkov three years in prison for interfering with the municipal elections in 2013, the court announced on Friday.

The court also handed over three years and two months sentence to the leader of the small opposition Democratic Party of Albanians Menduh Thaci for applying illegal influence and misuse of office.

Mijalkov and Thaci were sentenced prison terms as part of the codenamed "Titanic 2" case raised by the Special Prosecution for forging an agreement during North Macedonia's 2013 local elections.

The court found Mijalkov guilty of "illegally influencing" the elections, whereas Thaci of "misuse of office", along with several former electoral commission members.

However, both Mijalkov and Thaci pleaded not guilty.

The Special Prosecution, set up in 2015, has opened four cases against Mijalkov, where he is accused of being the mastermind of the illegal wiretapping of thousands of people in North Macedonia, including ministers, judges, journalists, opposition members and many other top officials during the time when VMRO DPMNE was the ruling party of the country.

On Nov. 20 last year, Skopje Criminal Court ordered Mijalkov's detention for 30 days and he was put under house arrest after that. Enditem

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