Suspended Sentence for Bulgarian Mother in Macedonia

The Bulgarian mother, Spaska Mitrova, has been sentenced three times by the Macedonian Court. Photo by BGNES

The Macedonian Court in the town of Kavadarzi has delivered 9 months suspended sentence and 2 years probation period for the Bulgarian mother, Spaska Mitrova.

In addition to the sentence, the Court ordered Mitrova to pay the expenses for the trial.

The Prosecutor stated that Mitrova mocked the court when saying the judge was part of UDBA and asked her for sexual favors and by accusing another magistrate of throwing hysterical insults about Mitrova's Bulgarian background.

Mitrova firmly rejects the latest accusations, explaining that the use of “udbashi” had not been her own, she just quoted someone else.

The young woman, who lives in Macedonia, holds a Bulgarian passport and perceives herself as Bulgarian. She was sentenced and served time in a Macedonian prison over charges she did not allow her husband to see their daughter Suzanna. She was released on parole, but then the parental rights case began. Mitrova has been the cause of diplomatic scandal between the two countries in 2009.

On March 11, the Court in the Macedonian town of Gevgeli ruled to give custody rights to the father of 3-year old Suzanna and Mitrova's estranged husband, Serbian Voislav Savic.

In the aftermath of the news about the Court's rule, the Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Ministry expressed deep concern over the way the custody trial was held, defining it as non-transparent and staged in the conditions of a very negative public environment, which included physical force, detention, and depriving the mother of her right to see her child.

The Ambassador of Macedonia to Sofia, Alexander Vasilevski, was called the next day to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry to provide clarifications about the Macedonian position regarding the Gevgeli court rule.

In mid-March, the Bulgarian Members of the European Parliament from all political groups decided to notify EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood, Stefan Fule, about Mitrova's case.

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