The defendant for the beating of Hristiyan Pendikov - Iliya Spaseski, pleads not guilty, but understands what he is accused of. Yesterday, the written testimony of the victim and a video from the night of the beating were presented in the court in Ohrid.

Among the evidence are audio recordings, witness statements, as well as a lot of photographic material, which was also viewed in the courtroom, but only by the defendant, the prosecutor and his lawyer. The thesis of the defense is very strange - they do not deny that there was a beating, but they say that it was not out of hatred and that Ilia Spaseski was not the main participant in it, and it is not known who actually inflicted the beating.

Spaseski works as a teacher at a school in Ohrid, North Macedonia. Before the court, he gave initial personal explanations. He stated that he identified himself as Macedonian and that he understood what he was accused of. When asked by the judge if he pleaded guilty, he answered in the negative.

The lawyer of the victim, Hristiyan Pendikov, explained that his client is still undergoing treatment and has no opportunity to travel to Ohrid and appear before the court.

"Hristiyan Pendikov will appear before the court. I cannot say when," said Stefan Hamishevski.

Security camera footage showing the beating on the evening of January 19 was played in court.

From the testimony that Hristiyan Pendikov gave hours after the attack, it is clear that Spaseski first went to his table in the restaurant and told him: "aren't you ashamed to call yourself Bulgarian". Later, when Pendikov left, Spaseski attacked him on the street, and another person punched him in the face with brass knuckles.

At the same moment, a woman passing by said that she was going to call the police, and Spaseski turned to her with the words: "How are you going to call the police for a Bulgarian, not a single one should remain". His lawyer, Slobodan Tsoboski, asked the court to question Gotse Spaseski, the defendant's father.

When asked by BNT why this was necessary, Tsoboski replied that this would make it clear that Ilia Spaseski does not hate Bulgaria and Bulgarians.

Before the court, the lawyer motivated the request with the statement that Gotse Spasevski was awarded by the Bulgarian state for the rescue of Bulgarians in the accident with a boat in Lake Ohrid in 2009.

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/Bulgarian National Television