The Minister for Bulgarians Abroad, Bozhidar Dimitrov, offered the family of Spaska Mitrova to obtain Bulgarian citizenship.

The news was reported Tuesday by the cabinet's press office.

The offer happened during a talk between the Minister without Portfolio and Suzana Mitrova, the mother of Bulgarian citizen Spaska Mitrova, who is serving time in a Macedonian jail.

Suzana Mitrova expressed deep gratitude over the support extended by the Bulgarian government, qualifying the actions of the Bulgarian institutions as adequate and defending human rights.

Dimitrov told Mitrova the entire family can submit paperwork to acquire Bulgarian citizenship and promised his personal assistance in the matter.

The 23-year-old Spaska Mitrova has been sentenced by Macedonian authorities to three months behind bars because she, allegedly, failed to provide a bed for her former husband for his weekend visits with their child.

The case triggered a diplomatic scandal between Bulgaria and Macedonia, as Mitrova's husband repeatedly abused her over her national identity (i.e. holding a Bulgarian passport), and because her sentence is, allegedly, so harsh for being a Macedonian, who received Bulgarian citizenship granted on the basis of proving her Bulgarian origin.

On September 4, Macedonia's President, Gjorge Ivanov, refused to pardon Mitrova. She is scheduled to leave the jail on October 29.

"A mother cannot be separated from her child. This contradicts basic human rights," Minister Dimitrov is quoted as saying.

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