A protest in defense of Iva Mihaylova and her right to treatment in Bulgaria took place in front of the Embassy of the Republic of North Macedonia in Sofia. The organizer of the event is the non-governmental organization "Macedonia Foundation".
An hour before the start of the protest in front of the building of the RSM embassy in Sofia at 17 Joliot Curie Street, there was a heavy police presence. Over 50 people gathered to express sympathy for the fate of our young compatriot. They held up posters with the inscriptions "Freedom for Iva", "Health is a right, not a privilege", "Let Iva get treatment", "Treatment cannot wait".
"We want to achieve the right of this girl Iva Mihaylova to be treated in Bulgaria, to receive rehabilitation, since the prosecutor in her case forbids her even to undergo rehabilitation in the neighboring city, which is 30 km away. She has been left without any treatment. We want this girl to have the right to receive treatment, because she urgently needs surgery, with a broken spine and a direct possibility of remaining disabled for life. She is 23 years old, Bulgarian. The case is a farce. What is hidden is hatred of Bulgarians on a national basis and a desire for her to be convicted, since police officers who were at the scene of the accident and are directly to blame for the accident should be charged," Viktor Stoyanov, one of the organizers of the protest, told BNR.
The girl's father thanked for the support he receives from Bulgaria. Here is what Simeon Mihaylov said: "I sincerely thank all the people who are present at this moment and support my daughter. We want to give some space to the truth and stop this cruelty in this country. We only want justice and for our daughter to come home as soon as possible so that she does not remain permanently disabled and can be treated in Bulgaria. This is what we explain, why it has come to this point. Only because of her definition that she feels Bulgarian, with Bulgarian roots and is Bulgarian, and from there things go in a different direction. Nothing is being decided about the accident, about the problem, even though she is innocent and not at all to blame."
Simeon Mihaylov added that his daughter's treatment is now ready to begin at the "Ivan Rilski" clinic. If they fail to deal with the problem there, she can be treated in Turkey and Israel.
A protester asked to go up to the embassy premises, but was not allowed. For now, traffic on "Joliot Curie" street is not closed.