Ministry: No recorded exit from North Macedonia for Iva Mihailova

The Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed on Monday afternoon that its border-control system contains no record of Iva Mihailova leaving North Macedonia.

In an official statement the ministry said: "With regard to the person you asked about, we inform you that checks were carried out in the Ministry of Internal Affairs' border control system, and it was established that there is no recorded exit from the territory of North Macedonia for the said person."

Earlier reports said Mihailova appeared on a police stop-list, while at the same time there was no registered exit in the ministry's border database. The ministry said it had carried out the relevant checks in its systems.

After arriving in Bulgaria, Mihailova told local media that there was nothing illegal about crossing the Macedonian–Bulgarian border, that she used her personal identity documents, and that border police cooperated.

Mihailova is a resident of Kočani and holds both Macedonian and Bulgarian citizenship. She faces trial in Kočani over a traffic accident that resulted in fatalities; as a precautionary measure her identity documents were previously confiscated.

Bulgaria-based outlets reported that Mihailova left North Macedonia accompanied by her lawyer and travelled to Bulgaria for medical treatment. The apparent contradiction between Mihailova’s presence in Bulgaria and the ministry’s record remains unresolved.

Photo: press material from the event