Iva Mihaylova Appeals to Bulgarian State for Help; Authorities in North Macedonia Detained Her Grandmother on Entering from Bulgaria

Iva Mihaylova has appealed to the Bulgarian state for help after her grandmother was detained by authorities in North Macedonia while entering the country from Bulgaria more than seven hours ago on November 10.

In a post on Facebook, Iva said her elderly grandmother had been questioned about her granddaughter's whereabouts and what she does for a living. They have since lost contact with her by telephone.

“I am currently in a hospital in Sofia and, if the Macedonian authorities are so keen to obtain information about me, they can contact me directly or come to Sofia. I have nothing to hide!

It is unacceptable for an elderly woman with a serious illness to be subjected to such pressure simply because she is my grandmother. I fear she may have been unlawfully taken to a local police station without her family being informed,” Iva Mihaylova wrote.

According to her, the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of North Macedoniahas refused to provide any information, despite her lawyer's attempts to establish what is happening.

“Is this normal?! On what legal grounds can a country detain an elderly woman with cancer and refuse to tell her family where she is? Such treatment is absolutely unacceptable and raises serious concerns about gross violations of fundamental human rights and personal liberty,” she added.

Iva Mihaylova has also notified the Bulgarian Embassy in Skopje.

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