The case of the attack on Hristian Pendikov is "overgrown" with speculations, said Bulgarian Ambassador to the Republic of North Macedonia Angel Angelov on Bulgarian National Television. According to him, an escalation of radical talk against Bulgarians in North Macedonia has been on for several months. This radical talk, especially on social networks, led to the stoning against the King Boris III cultural club in Ohrid, then the shooting against the club, and culminated in this physical attack on Pendikov, Angelov pointed out.
"We're working on the Hristian Pendikov assault case with what we know officially. The first announcement of the prosecutor's office in Ohrid was that he was attacked out of hatred, and then there was a visit by Bujar Osmani to the hospital. Now the prosecution is saying that the motives of the crime are not clear. It has been interpreted in a very unconventional way: it has overgrown with all kinds of hypotheses and fake news, so we are waiting for the real investigation of the prosecution and we are waiting for the court," Angelov said, adding that in his view the assault on Pendikov is a hate crime, as in the initial statement of the prosecutor's office in Ohrid.
According to Angelov, the two countries seem to be speaking in languages they do not understand. "I think some de-escalation has to be achieved and it has to be in the direction of addressing the fears and problems of the Bulgarians in North Macedonia," he said. "For example, if we see a fast-track procedure, detainees, convicts. In the two attacks on the club in Ohrid, there were no perpetrators arrested and then sent to court. We want to show the public that these actions are punishable," Angelov said.
/DS/
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