A retrial opened in Ohrid, North Macedonia, today, 22 October, for two men charged with beating Bulgarian national Hristiyan Pendikov. Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reported that they appeared in court.

The Court of Appeal in Bitola overturned the first-instance ruling and sent the case back to Ohrid. Both the prosecution and the defence had appealed against the verdict.

In March 2025, the Ohrid court sentenced Ilija Spasevski and Borche Angelov to 8 months in prison each for grievous bodily harm. It did not accept the "hatred" motive that was part of the charge. Both men deny guilt, and there is no final verdict.

Pendikov was attacked outside a café in Ohrid on 19 January 2023. At the time he was secretary of the Bulgarian association "Tsar Boris III" in the town.

His injuries were two cracked vertebrae, a broken jaw, cracked ribs and three broken teeth. The Bulgarian state sent a plane to bring him to Sofia, where he was treated at the Military Medical Academy.

The case caused a sharp reaction in Bulgaria, and relations with North Macedonia became more strained.

The first hearing was set for February 2023, when Spasevski appeared before the court in Ohrid. More than two years passed before the first verdicts, and more than three and a half years have passed since the attack.

The "Tsar Boris III" association was later struck off the registers in North Macedonia.

Pendikov also reported threats against him after the beating. After he reported a message in Macedonian, Bulgarian prosecutors opened a separate investigation into a death threat.