Epstein dossier reveals brains of dead people being transported from North Macedonia to the US
Express newspaper
03/02/2026 14:29
North Macedonia was involved in the project mentioned in the documents related to convicted American pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but the entire procedure took place legally, the former director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Skopje, Aleksej Duma, tells Deutsche Welle.
North Macedonia is also mentioned in recent documents released by the US Department of Justice regarding Epstein – convicted of child trafficking and sexual abuse – in an email sent to Ike Groff, founder of investment firm Tourmaline Partners, which cites a Bloomberg Businessweek investigation by Cynthia Koons and Robert Lagret.
As part of the project, American scientists affiliated with Columbia University have created a large human brain bank intended for research into suicide, schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. The collection includes about 1,000 brains – some from people who have committed suicide and some from control samples.
In this context, Macedonia is also mentioned, which contributed samples. The report says that the brain was taken after death, immediately frozen and transported to the United States under strict control, where it was archived and marked with QR codes. Strict protocols were in place: the brain traveled under controlled conditions, was packed in special containers and stored at -80°C.
Professor Aleksej Duma, former director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Skopje, explains to DW how many samples and for what purposes were sent from Macedonia to the United States.
Duma: It was the largest international project we participated in
Duma, in a statement to Deutsche Welle, explains that this is an international project, in which the country was involved by sending 10 to 15 samples. The procedure for sending the samples to the United States was carried out according to very strict rules and controls. Each sample had to be approved by the Macedonian and American Ethics Committees.
“The samples traveled mostly legally by plane, passed through customs, and had full documentation for them. Without permission, a sample could not have entered the United States,” Duma is decisive, dismissing the possibility of profiting from the entire procedure.
He also points out that the figure of 1,000 brains does not refer to Macedonian specimens, but to the entire collection from several countries. Macedonia provided about 10-15 specimens each year.
“Considering that we had 300 to 350 autopsies from all walks of life every year, the question is how many of them died due to suicide. In the end, the number comes down to 10-15 cases,” says Duma.
He does not remember whether permission from the families was required for the intervention at that time, or only the consent of the Ethics Committee and an information letter.
The role of Gorazd Rosoklija
A July 2014 MANU paper, written by Gorazd Rosoklija, a professor at Columbia University, Alexey Duma, former director of Forensic Medicine, and Andrew J. Dwork, has been published on the website of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. The paper describes a multi-year collaboration between Columbia University and the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Skopje, which began in 1996 with the aim of studying brain changes in schizophrenia and suicide.
Gorazd Rosoklija is cited as the main liaison between Columbia University and Macedonian institutions. He traveled frequently to Macedonia, organized administrative processes, and played an important role in approving the export of biological samples.
In 2010, the media reported that Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, Dr. Gorazd Rosoklija, was actively working to open a center for psychiatric illnesses in Macedonia — the first of its kind, with the aim of providing accurate diagnostics and modern research methods.
In an interview with Voice of America, Rosoklija later revealed that he was also the initiator of a project funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to open an electron microscopy center in Macedonia. The center was supposed to enable the study of the ultrastructure of brain tissue in patients with schizophrenia.
Project results and significance
Professor Duma, from this time distance, says that they received interesting data about schizophrenia and its connection with suicide. “Our part was to work on morphology – whether there is any change in the brain that is characteristic of suicides. Moreover, another university was working on finding drugs.
Duma is convinced that the project has yielded important scientific results:
methods have been developed for recognizing morphological changes in suicide;
new knowledge has been gained about the link between schizophrenia and suicide;
the results have been used in numerous international studies;
Macedonia received equipment, laboratories, and the opportunity for doctoral studies for young scientists.