Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski called on Bulgaria to extradite Simeon Mihajlov, who is sentenced to 12 years in prison for an attempted murder and other crimes in relation to an extortion ring he was part of. Bulgaria is elevating the issue of his daughter, Iva Mihajlova, who was involved in a car crash in which a passenger in a vehicle she collided with died – Mihajlova, a dual Macedonian – Bulgarian citizen like her father, is demanding to be allowed to go to Bulgaria for treatment which she claims can’t be received in Macedonia.

We have an arrest warrant for that person and I expect our partners to act in accordance with our partnership. We are partners with our eastern neighbor within NATO. We expect people who are wanted on an arrest warrant, who have committed a crime, to be extradited, in the spirit of partnership, to face the law and justice, said Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski today, about the case of Simeon Mihajlov.

Bulgaria has not extradited Mihajlov, who was prominent in a protest of Bulgarian nationalists in front of the Macedonian Embassy in Sofia, demanding that his daughter is also allowed into Bulgaria. She is charged with the crime of serious offenses against the safety of people and property in traffic, following the accident last October, in which besides the one fatality, several people were injured, including Mihajlova herself. She denies any wrongdoing in the accident and claims that it was not her fault.

Two Macedonian courts have decided not to return Mihajlova’s confiscated passport, because the health services she needs are also available in Macedonia. Her trial is ongoing, and one of the hearings was attended by six members of the Bulgarian parliament.