Foreign ministers of Bulgaria and North Macedonia both condemned the attack on the Bulgarian Cultural Club's Secretary in Ohrid

Ilija Spaseski, the alleged assailant of Hristian Pendikov, secretary of the Bulgarian Club in Ohrid, will stay in custody for 30 days, the foreign minister of Republic of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, confirmed on January 22.

The decision was made by the court in Ohrid. The top diplomat of North Macedonia and his Bulgarian counterpart Nikolay Milkov visited Pendikov at the Military Medical Academy (MMA) in Sofia, where he was admitted on Friday.

Bulgarian Cultural Club Secretary, who was beaten in North Macedonia, is transported to Bulgaria for treatment

The two foreign ministers strongly condemned the attack on the young man with Bulgarian self-awareness, which took place on the evening of 19 January in Ohrid. The next day, the victim was transported to Sofia for medical treatment with a broken jaw, cracked ribs and a fractured neck vertebra. Officially, Skopje once again promised zero tolerance for hate speech and violence.

Hristian's condition remains moderately serious, with no life-threatening condition. Today he was consulted by maxillofacial surgeons, further tests have been done and he is due to be operated tomorrow. The young man continues to be in the intensive care unit of the MMA and is under the personal observation of Gen. Nikolai Petrov, corresponding member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Caretaker Minister Milkov said that Bulgaria strongly condemns the incident and by all means possible will counter hate speech that leads to escalation of violence. His cunterpart from the Republic of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani once again promised the authorities in Skopje to take measures and called on them to stop the provocations.

The two foreign ministers were unanimous that the brutal beating of Hristian Pendikov is strongly condemned on both sides of the border. Nikolay Milkov said he had arrived at the hospital with his wife, as a person, to see a man with a cause who had suffered for the ideas he stood for.

As Minister, he commented that Bulgaria firmly insists on punishing Hristian’s assailants and on ending the impunity that breeds more and more violence. In Milkov's words, a "no" must also be said to the revival of the dark traditions of the past near Vardar, which are associated with arson, shootings and violence against people.

"Such things have no place in Europe at all. And we are extremely concerned about this. Bulgaria will not back down from protecting the rights of our community, which consists of people with dignity. Unfortunately, things are not going well. As you can see there is an escalation, Hristian continues to receive threats on the internet," the foreign minister said.

Milkov refused to cite the threats against Hristian, saying that they were very ugly. The Foreign Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, once again strongly condemned the attack.

According to Osmani, it brings harm to both his country and the multi-ethnic society in his country. He also promised that the government in Skopje will make sure that there is zero tolerance for violence. In his words, ethnic tolerance near Vardar is something sacred that has been built over the past 30 years.

Osmani also said that the Bulgarian community is and will be respected and will have all the rights and freedoms that all other communities in the country have. Asked when the political class in the Republic of North Macedonia will stop with the anti-Bulgarian talk that becomes the centre of every election campaign in the country, Osmani called for all kinds of provocations and violence to stop.

Milkov and Osmani agreed on one more thing - that hate speech should be stopped and no one should be persecuted for the way they self-identify.

What kind of punishment will the attackers who beat Hristian get, after the arsonist of another Bulgarian club in Bitola received a suspended sentence, even though his actions endangered the lives of many? Today, Minister Osmani did not comment on what the punishment might be for those who beat Hristian, but noted that this would be decided by the court in the Republic of North Macedonia.

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