English
The Macedonian Foreign Ministry denied reports from media outlets, based on social media posts, that the plaque marking the Macedonian Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, has been damaged by protesters. The reports spread after a protest in front of the Embassy, organized by nationalist Bulgarian groups and the family of Iva Mihajlova, who became the focal point of the dispute between Macedonia and Bulgaria.
Mihajlova has a dual Macedonian – Bulgarian citizenship and was involved in a traffic accident in which a person was killed in a vehicle she crashed with. She claims that she has serious injuries that can’t be treated in Macedonia and requires to be sent to Bulgaria for treatment, but the court fears an attempt to escape the trial and has rejected the requests so far. Her father, Simeon Mihajlov, who attended the protest, is in Bulgaria avoiding a prison sentence of 12 and a half years in Macedonia for murder and violence, as part of a broad extortion case. Simeon Mihajlov is using his Bulgarian citizenship to avoid serving out the sentence in Macedonia and claims that he’s a victim of political prosecution.
The Foreign Ministry confirmed that the plaque was removed, but by employees of the Embassy and is being replaced. The Ministry issued an appeal to media outlets to respect the facts when reporting on issues related to diplomatic and consular missions and to check the information through official sources before publishing it.