A court in Ohrid today cleared Borche Angelov and Ilija Spasevski of beating ethnic Bulgarian Hristiyan Pendikov in January 2023, Bulgaria's foreign ministry said.

The hearing was the first and only one in the retrial, and it lasted less than two hours. Both men again denied guilt, and no new evidence was added.

The Court of Appeal in Bitola had sent the case back to the Ohrid Basic Court for a new first-instance trial.

The ministry calls it another serious hate crime against an ethnic Bulgarian in North Macedonia, with no consequences from the country's courts. It says the beating left Pendikov close to paralysis and he needed long treatment in Bulgaria.

The ministry says the acquittal shows why North Macedonia is falling behind on its path to EU membership. It says it will not accept a growing sense of impunity for hate crimes in North Macedonia.

The ministry says the 2022 European compromise pays special attention to the rights of Bulgarians because of a build-up of such problems. It adds that the consequences of not keeping to it, including for North Macedonia's EU bid, are clear.

Bulgaria will stand behind Pendikov and all Bulgarians in North Macedonia in their search for justice and equal rights, however long and hard it takes, the ministry said.

In 2025, the two men were convicted at first instance. But the ministry says the sentences were too light, and the court dropped hate as a motive for inexplicable reasons.