The Trial Against Iva Mihaylova in Kocani: Once Again, She Was Not Allowed to Receive Medical Treatment in Bulgaria

The case of Iva Mihaylova from Kocani, North Macedonia, continues, with the 10-month ban preventing her from leaving her home town still in force following the road traffic accident. The restriction remains in place despite the fact that none of the witnesses questioned during the trial has claimed that she crossed into the oncoming lane and caused the fatal collision.

The only eyewitness told the court that Iva's car was hit while travelling in its own lane. His testimony prompted a sharp reaction from the prosecutor, who even threatened him with legal action.

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The testimony of David Krstov, who during the investigation said that, while driving behind Iva's car, he saw her vehicle lift off the ground while remaining in its own lane, but told the court that he saw her car being hit, prompted a reaction from the prosecutor.

Igorcho Krastov, prosecutor: “He doesn’t know what ‘contact’ means.”

Blagoj Yovanov, Iva Mihaylova's lawyer: “I believe the court needs to know the truth about what ‘seeing the moment of contact’ actually means to him. Is that really so difficult?"

According to the prosecutor, this discrepancy in the testimony could be grounds for a charge of perjury. The defence argued, however, that the witness had consistently described the same event, albeit in different words, as he gave his statement to investigators in January and then testified before the court nearly seven months later.

Attempts by the defence lawyers to question the witness were rejected.

Blagoj Yovanov, Iva Mihaylova's lawyer: “We’ve all witnessed how seven different versions of the story have been spun as the truth. That was the truth. The truth is that David's evidence differs only rhetorically from what he said before and what he is saying now."

Iva exercised her right to ask the witness a question:

Iva Mihaylova: Is it true that a few months ago the prosecutor happened to meet you by chance and, indirectly and in a casual manner, suggested that you should change your statement, otherwise you would face criminal proceedings?"

The prosecutor did not allow a response.

Igorcho Krastov, prosecutor: “The question is entirely irrelevant; if the defendant believes such a thing occurred, it can be addressed as a separate matter before another authority, not here.”

Not a single witness testified to seeing Iva's car cross into the oncoming lane. David, who had a clear view of her vehicle, told the court that, up until the moment of the collision, she remained in her own lane and continued driving straight ahead.

The collision occurred literally seconds after a police patrol stopped a van travelling in the opposite direction for an inspection, forcing the vehicles behind it to go around it.

Iva Mihaylova: "The green van was actually directly in front of the car that entered my lane. It was travelling in the traffic lane, not in the emergency lane, as the police and one of the witnesses claimed. The other ten witnesses all said it was travelling in the lane itself."

The driver and passengers of the car that collided with Iva's vehicle told the court that the van in question, which had no registration plates, had been travelling in front of them for some time before it was stopped by the police for an inspection.

A witness who was three vehicles behind them testified that the van had been in front of him and had been positioned towards the right, close to the emergency lane.

Iva Mihaylova: “I think that, from a purely friendly perspective, he is trying in some way to assist the police and cover up evidence.”

This serious contradiction was not clarified during the hearing. It also remained unclear whether, following yet another medical expert report—which states that Iva requires treatment unavailable in hospitals in the Republic of North Macedonia—the court will allow her to travel to Bulgaria for medical treatment

Iva Mihaylova: "My conscience is clear, and so is my conscience before God. The rest is for the court to decide at the next hearing."