Kocani, North Macedonia/Sofia, (BTA) – People gathered in front of the Basic Court in Kocani, Republic of North Macedonia, on Monday in support of Iva Mihaylova. A hearing in her case began at 9 a.m. local time (10 a.m. Bulgarian time).
On June 7, Bulgarian National Television reported that Mihaylova, who is a citizen of both Bulgaria and North Macedonia, had been barred from leaving the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, after she was involved in a traffic accident on October 7, 2025, that killed one person and left several others, including Mihaylova, injured. Mihaylova suffered fractures to her fourth and fifth vertebrae. On July 6, 2026, the Basic Court in Kocani launched a trial against Mihaylova. On August 20, 2026, the Stip Court of Appeal upheld the ruling of the Kocani Court, which had denied Iva Mihaylova the opportunity to undergo the necessary treatment outside the Republic of North Macedonia.
On August 22, Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova told reporters that she 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.
Bulgarian MPs Ivan Golomeev, Boyko Mladenov, Borislav Georgiev, Georg Georgiev, Krasimir Terziev, Elisaveta Belobradova, Angel Georgiev, and Krastyo Vrachev, representing Progressive Bulgaria, GERB-UDF, Democratic Bulgaria, and Vazrazhdane, attended the hearing to monitor directly the progress of the case and ensure Mihaylova’s right to a fair trial, as well as to ensure that she is given the opportunity to continue the necessary treatment in Bulgaria.
Experts who prepared two conflicting expert reports on the case are expected to be questioned during Monday’s hearing.
Iva Mihaylova voiced hope for a fair trial in North Macedonia and that she will be allowed to receive treatment in Bulgaria as soon as possible, because she feels her physical condition is deteriorating. She spoke to reporters outside the court in Kocani, where a hearing in the case against the young woman, who is a citizen of both Bulgaria and North Macedonia, is held on Monday. She is facing charges related to her involvement in a car accident in which one person died.
Outside the court, Mihaylova expressed her gratitude to everyone who went to the court in Kocani or attended the protest in front of the Embassy of North Macedonia in Sofia to show their support for her.
She declined to comment on the court proceedings, but said she hoped they would be fair.
“I don’t think I have the right to comment yet. But I hope for a fair case, a fair trial. It’s just that, judging by everything we have seen so far, it doesn’t seem to be that way,” she said.
Mihaylova said that the only thing she needs at the moment is medical treatment, which she cannot receive in North Macedonia. She said she had submitted “a considerable amount of medical documentation” to the court confirming this need, but that eight applications had been rejected so far.
“I think we have already exhausted everything we can do,” she said.
In response to a journalist’s question about whether each passing day puts her health at greater risk, Iva Mihaylova answered in the affirmative. “Yes. Every day I feel physically worse and worse. And all I want is to return to Bulgaria as soon as possible and receive treatment,” she said.
The Macedonia Foundation with support from the civic organization Buditeli held a protest in front of the Embassy of North Macedonia in Sofia on Monday 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.”
Stoyanov stated that the protest aims to ensure Mihaylova’s right to medical care and life. He said: “We want Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia to be protected, to be granted rights on paper, and for the persecution of them to stop.” He stated that Bulgarian diplomacy is active, but it is not effective, since if it were effective, Bulgarians would not be persecuted in the Republic of North Macedonia.
The head of the foundation called the trial in Kocani a farce. He stated that the key traffic accident investigation was conducted by a police officer who lacks the necessary education.
Mihaylova’s father, Simeon Mihaylov, also attended the protest in Sofia. He thanked the Bulgarian people for their support and said that 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 reported that all arrangements for Mihaylova’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.
