New tension Skopje- Sofie for Bulgarian ethnic Minority

Trial against Spaska Mitrova was not transparent in first instance: Bulgarian Foreign Ministry

The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established with deep concern that the trial for the parental rights against Bulgarian Spaska Mitrova in Macedonia was not transparent in the first instance, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Vesela Cherneva says in a statement.

The ministry says in the statement that the trial took place in a very negative public atmosphere, including acts of physical violence, detention for a long period and deprivation of the opportunity for Mitrova to see her child.
We do not accept the persistent failure to admit an official of the Bulgarian embassy in Skopje to the court sittings in view of the extremely large public interest in both countries.

We expect that the court in the next instance will rule in accordance with the European principles of transparency and impartiality. That’s why we take heed of the recommendations and requirements in the European Commission’s annual report on Macedonia’s progress.

Bulgaria will continue following the process very carefully and will consider it a benchmark for the headway of the judicial reform in Republic of Macedonia – an important element of the Copenhagen criteria, the implementation of which determines our neighbor’s European perspective, the statement reads.