Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Sentence of the Attackers of Hristijan Pendikov: We Will Continue to Support Bulgarians in North Macedonia in Their Fight for Equal Rights

Bulgaria will continue to provide full support to Hristijan Pendikov and all Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia in their fight for justice and equal rights, regardless of how much time and effort this takes. This is stated in a position issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the court’s decision in Ohrid to acquit those responsible for the assault on Pendikov.

• Court in Ohrid acquitted Hristijan Pendikov’s attackers

At today’s hearing, which lasted less than two hours, the Basic Court in Ohrid fully acquitted the perpetrators of the assault. In doing so, the judicial system in the Republic of North Macedonia has once again allowed a serious hate crime against an ethnic Bulgarian from North Macedonia to go unpunished, highlighting the reasons for the neighbouring country’s slow progress towards European integration.

It is unacceptable for a sense of impunity for hate crimes in the Republic of North Macedonia to become further entrenched. It was precisely because of the accumulation of such problems that the 2022 European compromise placed particular emphasis on the rights of Bulgarians. The consequences of failing to implement this compromise, including for the country’s European integration, are clear, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry added.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled that the brutal beating in 2023 left Pendikov on the brink of paralysis and necessitated prolonged treatment in Bulgaria.

It also recalled that his attackers received lenient sentences at first instance in 2025, with the court inexplicably omitting “hatred” as a motive from its reasoning. The Court of Appeal in Bitola subsequently referred the case back to the court of first instance for a retrial.