Prime Minister Boiko Borissov won one of his first victories abroad after Spaska Mitrova was released from a Macedonian court on October 8. When he came to power in July, Borissov pledged to change Bulgaria’s foreign policy so that every Bulgarian would feel the support and protection of Bulgarian institutions. The promise was very welcome because there have been many cases in the past of Bulgarian citizens being abandoned.

This issue is extremely strong when it comes to Bulgarians in Macedonia. Bulgarian nationalist parties keep on blaming Macedonian authorities for harassing Macedonians of Bulgarian descent and Bulgarian passport-holders, causing public dissatisfaction in Bulgaria. That’s why the case of Macedonian-born Spaska Mitrova, who got her Bulgarian passport after she was sentenced by a Macedonian court, was an easy target for nationalists on both sides of the border. In Bulgaria the general view was that Mitrova was being punished for deciding to return to her roots and applying for a Bulgarian passport.

The official position in Macedonia was that Mitrova had been sentenced to three months in prison because she had refused to allow her Macedonian husband to see their child. She broke the law and got punished. Good or bad, the law is the law. This could have ended the issue if it wasn’t for the fact that she was the first young woman to receive such punishment for what she had done.

Hence many in Bulgaria suspected that the Macedonian authorities had applied the law in its full force because of her Bulgarian passport although, strictly speaking, she got the passport only after first being sentenced by the court, having applied for it a few months earlier. 

True to his promise to defend Bulgarians, Borissov and his Minister for Bulgarians abroad, Bozhidar Dimitrov, campaigned persistently on her behalf. We heard about Mitrova’s grave health and mental state and of the terror she was subject to. The Foreign Ministry also interfered by officially demanding an explanation. Dimitrov even offered to take Mitrova’s place in prison so that she could be reunited with her child. He suggested finding her a job in Bulgaria and giving all her relatives Bulgarian citizenship. Someone even had the idea of Bulgaria vetoing Macedonia’s EU and Nato accession talks because of Mitrova.

The whole saga lasted for several weeks until October 8, when Mitrova was set free and Bulgaria declared victory and Borissov pointed fingers at Macedonia for making fun of his efforts to free her. Bulgaria welcomed a confused Mitrova, who obviously had difficulties coping with the media attention ahead of her meeting with Borissov. She was given a full medical examination in Sofia and given the option to stay in Bulgaria and work. She pleased her hosts by saying that Bulgaria felt more like home to her than her native Macedonia but politely refused Dimitrov’s job offer by simply asking to see her child as soon as possible. As for Bulgaria’s national interests, little was said.