A 12-year-old Scottish girl who was widely vilified in the mainstream media and by police as the aggressor in a viral Dundee street confrontation has been vindicated after a Bulgarian man was convicted of assaulting her and other young girls.
In August 2025, video footage emerged showing the girl holding a knife and an axe while confronting Ilia Belov, 22, and his sister Nadjedzha Belova in the Lochee area of Dundee.
These images went viral worldwide, with many people commenting on the matter and the girl becoming an internet meme.
Police Scotland and several media outlets immediately focused blame on the girl, charging her with possession of offensive weapons and publicly warning against “misinformation” and “racist speculation”.
Humza Yousaf, first minister of Scotland at the time came, to the defence of the attackers at the time, accusing the children of being racist.
He also scolded Elon Musk for spreading “misinformation” on X.
They publicly urged people not to share the video, and some outlets portrayed the Bulgarian siblings as innocent victims.
Senior officers suggested the Bulgarian couple were the victims of anti-migrant harassment by local youths.
Yesterday at Dundee Sheriff Court, Ilia Belov was convicted of assaulting the 12-year-old by pushing her to the ground and of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards four girls aged 12 to 14.
His sister Nadjedzha Belova, 20, had already pleaded guilty to assaulting a 13-year-old girl by pulling her hair, dragging her to the ground and striking her.
The court heard Belov had made sexual remarks to the girls (“hello sexy, I’ll show you a good time”) before the confrontation escalated.
Belov claimed he had gone out for cigarettes with his dad and was called a “f*****g immigrant” and the “son of a b*****d” by the girls when he passed them.
He said he then shoved the 12-year-old girl in self-defence.
The sheriff rejected Belov’s claims.
He said they were unreliable and that Belov had moved closer to the girls to film them and make rude remarks, which clearly did not indicate a fear of being attacked.
“The trigger for all this were the comments that you made.
“I accept that as a result of those comments you made, abuse was shouted at you.
“Which includes swear words including you being called a ‘f*****g creep’ and an immigrant.
“The words of the children were eloquent to describe your behaviour given your age and their respective ages.”
Instead of alerting the cops, Belov called his younger sister for help.
CCTV footage showed her running to the scene and then dragging one of the girls to the ground by her hair, The Sun reported.
Conversely, now, the girl and her sister were praised in court for speaking the truth and were called “impressive” witnesses.
Their mom told British media: “I’m so relieved the whole story has finally come out. It’s been heart breaking. They told the truth from the start but no-one believed them.”
“Everyone was more focused on the axe than anything else so didn’t listen to what really happened.
“We are just a wee, ordinary family. I’m just glad that it’s finally all sorted and we can begin to move on.”
Ilia Belov and Nadjedzha Belova will be sentenced in August 5.
Belov risks being put on a sex offender’s register.
He said he already lost his job as a factory worker in Dundee because of what happened.
I remember when everybody rubbished the 12 year old girls at Dundee who tried to defend themselves with an axe.
A Bulgarian man was just found guilty of making sexual comments towards them and assaulting one of them.
A lot of people need to apologise pic.twitter.com/XYZJBlh2hA
— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) June 12, 2026
The case followed a now-familiar pattern seen in the UK, where authorities and large sections of the media rush to frame incidents as an example of native “racism” or far-right agitation, while downplaying or obscuring the actions of the migrants involved.
Reactions, even online, are often condemned more harshly than the original crime.
A iconic case was the Southport stabbing atrocity in 2024, where authorities initially withheld or downplayed the Rwandan migrant background of the attacker Axel Rudakubana, leading to widespread public anger over perceived attempts to protect a narrative around migration.
These episodes have further eroded public trust in how British institutions and media handle incidents involving migrants and native citizens.
Rather than addressing underlying issues of integration, grooming, crime and community cohesion, the default response tends to be protecting the preferred narrative.
It also causes growing concerns with the public on how the government will use the Online Safety Act, requiring services quickly to take illegal content offline and remove content at times of crisis.
Many believe that true videos will be suppressed and censorship will be used against the people.
In Belgium, activist Dries Van Langenhove was already convicted for promoting hatred and racial superiority with the judge stating that Van Langenhove’s facts might be true, but that it was irrelevant because he had bad intentions.
BREAKING NEWS!!! I am just back from court. The Bulgarian who tried chatting up a 12 and 13yo in Lochee has just been found guilty, along with his sister. The CCTV clearly showed them attacking the girls. @DundeeCouncil @courier_dundee @PoliceScotland all lied. #lochee #dundee pic.twitter.com/4CW12c0jkB
— News Magpie (@News_Magpie) June 11, 2026
