On Monday, the Basic Court in Kochani rejected Iva Mihailova’s request to participate via video link in the court proceedings conducted against her. A decision was made for the trial to continue in her absence.
Expert witnesses proposed by the defense testified. Judge Spiro Borisov explained that the Law on Criminal Procedure provided for such a possibility in situations where witnesses or expert witnesses should be examined, but not defendants. For that reason, Mihailova’s request to participate via video link was not accepted.
Mihailova is indicted for the traffic accident on the Shtip–Kochani road in which one person was killed and several were injured. Meanwhile, the Prosecutor’s Office has called upon Mihailova to submit evidence against the prosecutor working on her case, if she has any. It stated that all proceedings against Mihailova were being conducted professionally.
The response came after Mihailova, during an appearance on a podcast hosted by Bulgarian journalist Martin Karbovski, had claimed that the prosecutor had demanded a bribe for her to receive a suspended sentence.