Nationalist Grants Sentenced Bulgarian-Macedonian Mother EP Job

The Bulgarian-Macedonian Spaska Mitrova, who has been recently delivered with 9 months suspended sentence, will work as an assistant in the EP. Photo by BGNES

The Macedonian with Bulgarian passport Spaska Mitrova will join the European Parliament as an assistant to the MEP from the far-right nationalist party “Ataka” Dimitar Stoyanov.

Mitrova became publicly known for 3-month imprisonment and her year-long trials over custody rights. Her case fired a huge debate between Bulgaria and Macedonia. Many Bulgarians have participated in protests against her imprisonment because they believed the case was politically motivated.

The young woman's new position has been announced Thursday after her meeting with the “Ataka” leader Volen Siderov at the Parliament in Sofia.

“In addition to her job with “Ataka”, we will make sure she receives a legal protection by our MP and lawyer, Yavor Notev, and by other lawyers too. As a Bulgarian citizen, Spaska is entitled to have a Bulgarian lawyer,” Siderov said.

Mitrova has graduated with a major in “English philology” from the Southwestern University in the Bulgarian city of Blagoevgrad “Neofit Rilski”. Her job in the European Parliament will be to consult Stoyanov on Macedonian issues.

Stoyanov has met Spaska two weeks ago. In his words, people who admit their Bulgarian origin in Macedonia face problems.

“This is a continuing problem at the moment and is connected to the Macedonia's membership in the EU. I invited Spaska Mitrova to be my assistant in the EP. I am a member of the inter-parliamentary delegation between the EU and the Macedonian Parliament and I invited her to consult me on issues regarding Macedonia's progress for its membership in the EU,” he said.

The European MPs have at their disposal a budget of EUR 17 500 per month to pay their collaborators or other consultants. There is no restriction for the number of collaborators and the salaries are defined by the MP him/herself.

Spaska Mitrova 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.

Only days ago, the Macedonian Court in the town of Kavadarzi has delivered Mitrova with 9 months suspended sentence and 2 years probation period. In addition to the sentence, the Court ordered her 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.

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