Balgarianovinite.com The Basic Court in the town of Kocani in North Macedonia Monday held a hearing of the case against Iva Mihaylova, who is a citizen of both Bulgaria and North Macedonia. The case concerns her involvement in a traffic accident in which one person was killed. Mihaylova has been charged with a serious offence related to road traffic safety in North Macedonia.
The Kocani Basic Court heard the final non-expert witness and began taking evidence from the first of three accident-reconstruction experts. A police officer, who was conducting a road-safety operation at the scene, said he did not see the collision but heard the impact, and that a vehicle stopped for a police check did not obstruct traffic. A prosecution-appointed expert testified that his analysis showed Mihaylova’s car had crossed about 90 centimetres into the oncoming lane. His examination was adjourned to September 28, when the two defence-appointed experts are also expected to testify.
The accident occurred in early October 2025, leaving several people, including Mihaylova, injured. Her identity documents were confiscated following the accident, preventing her from travelling for treatment to Bulgaria, one of the countries where such treatment is possible given the nature of her spinal injuries.
Speaking to reporters outside the court on Monday, Mihaylova voiced hope that she would get a fair trial and that she would be allowed to receive treatment in Bulgaria as soon as possible, because she felt her condition was deteriorating. She said she had submitted “a considerable amount of medical documentation” to the court confirming that she needs medical treatment that she cannot receive in North Macedonia, but eight applications had so far been rejected. Mihaylova said: “Every day I feel physically worse and worse. All I want is to return to Bulgaria as soon as possible and receive treatment.”
After the hearing, Mihaylova told reporters that a prosecutor had said the prosecution would oppose permission for her to travel abroad for treatment unless her condition was life-threatening.
Progressive Bulgaria MPs Ivan Golomeev, Boyko Mladenov and Borislav Georgiev, GERB-UDF MPs Georg Georgiev and Krasimir Terziev, Democratic Bulgaria MP Elisaveta Belobradova and Vazrazhdane MPs Angel Georgiev and Krastyo Vrachev attended the court hearing.
Progressive Bulgaria MP Boyko Mladenov said that despite the opinion expressed by medical specialists, it seems the priority at the moment is not to allow Mihaylova to leave for medical treatment, but to establish her guilt by any means possible. He said the Bulgarian MPs were witnessing proceedings in which the prosecution was repeatedly interrupting the defence and attempting to distort certain facts or present them in a way that diminished their significance.
GERB MP and former foreign minister Georg Georgiev said: “Our top priority is to make sure that Iva receives quality medical care and that her civil and human rights are guaranteed.” He said Mihaylova has the right to access quality healthcare. “It is the role of the judiciary and the authorities to guarantee that citizens’ rights will be protected,” Georgiev said. He said the Bulgarian MPs wanted to make sure that Iva’s human rights will be protected, but also that the truth, objective facts and circumstances will guide the proceedings.
Democratic Bulgaria MP and Deputy Chair of the Committee on Policies for Bulgarians Abroad Elisaveta Belobradova said her task was to ensure that Mihaylova receives a fair trial and that her human rights and health are protected by the Republic of North Macedonia. The MP declined to comment on the substance of the proceedings “because we genuinely believe in the rule of law and genuinely believe that we are in a courtroom that is part of a sovereign country.”
Vazrazhdane MP Angel Georgiev claimed the local prosecution showed bias, saying that at times the prosecutor had tried to dictate the course of the proceedings and assume the court’s functions. He said repeated rejections of Mihaylova’s request to travel to Bulgaria for medical treatment “without clear reasons being given” were “a human rights violation”. He added that such treatment was inconsistent with North Macedonia’s aspirations to join the European Union.
Also attending the hearing were representatives of the Bulgarian Embassy in Skopje, lawyers from the law firm of Nikolay Dimitrov, who specializes in insurance, contract and tort law, as well as other Bulgarian lawyers. A large number of relatives and friends of the person killed and those injured in the accident, the experts who prepared the expert reports on the incident, as well as Bulgarian and local media were also present in the courtroom.
People gathered in front of the Basic Court in Kocani in support of Iva Mihaylova.
Also on Monday, the Macedonia Foundation with support from the civic organization Buditeli held a protest in front of the Embassy of North Macedonia in Sofia in support of Mihaylova and her right to medical treatment. Foundation Chair Viktor Stoyanov described Mihaylova as a victim of the judicial system of North Macedonia. He added: “For ten months, she has been denied emergency medical treatment and remains disabled. She is the victim of the accident.”
Mihaylova’s father, Simeon Mihaylov, attended the protest in Sofia. He thanked the Bulgarian people for their support and said the fact that his daughter identifies as a Bulgarian is seen as a problem by the people of North Macedonia, by the prosecution and judges there. He said all arrangements for Iva’s treatment have been made and she just needs to be granted the right to travel. The treatment is scheduled to take place in Bulgaria, but there are also options in Turkiye and Israel, if the necessary treatment is not available in Bulgaria.
On August 22, Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova told reporters that she had sent a letter to her counterpart in the Republic of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska, on August 11, in which she proposed to have Bulgarian medical experts sent to North Macedonia to offer medical consultation or to treat Mihaylova there. Iotova has not yet received a response.
North Macedonia Court Hears Case Against Iva Mihaylova, Next Hearing Set for September 28 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-08-31 17:01:00
Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
БЪЛГАРИЯ НОВИНИТЕ – ИНФОРМАЦИОННА АГЕНЦИЯ 2009-2026 2026-08-31 17:01:00