Migrant Male Guilty in Scottish Axe Attack on Girl
A Bulgarian migrant was convicted of assaulting Scottish schoolchildren after police initially charged the 12-year-old victims with weapons possession when they defended themselves.
Ilia Belov, 22, was convicted of assaulting a 12-year-old girl and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner toward four girls aged between 12 and 14 in Dundee on August 23rd, 2025, according to Breitbart News. His sister, Nadjedzha Belova, 20, had earlier pleaded guilty to assaulting a 13-year-old girl during the same incident. Both siblings will be sentenced on August 5th.
The case drew intense public attention after video footage circulated online showing a distressed 13-year-old girl brandishing an axe and knife while another child shouted at the male migrant to leave them alone. The image of children forced to arm themselves in self-defense quickly went viral, sparking fierce debate about migrant crime and child safety.
Police Initially Charged the Children, Not the Attackers
What followed was a coordinated effort by police, politicians, and media outlets to shut down public discussion of the incident. Scottish police initially charged a 12-year-old girl with possession of offensive weapons while treating the Bulgarian migrants as victims, Breitbart News reports.
On August 27th, just four days after the attack, Police Scotland issued a statement warning the public against “speculation” and claiming they were addressing “misinformation” about the case. The force stated that a Bulgarian couple had been approached by youths and that a 12-year-old girl had been charged with weapons possession.
Local media outlet The Courier reported at the time that police had reviewed CCTV footage and found nothing to support allegations against the two Bulgarian individuals. The same newspaper published a sympathetic interview with Belov during this period while his young victim faced criminal charges.
Court Rejects Migrant’s Claims, Confirms Sexual Proposition
Belov claimed in his defense that he had been walking to buy cigarettes when a group of children unprovoked began shouting abuse at him, including calling him a “fucking migrant.” He testified that he called his sister to the scene because he was frightened of the young girls, and only pushed one child to the ground because he believed she would attack his sister.
Sheriff Timothy Niven-Smith rejected this account as wholly unconvincing and self-serving, according to court reports.
The court heard that Belov had in fact initiated the confrontation by shouting at the children: “hello sexy, I’ll show you a good time.” When the girls called him a “creep” in response to his lewd proposition, the Bulgarian siblings launched their physical assault.
Belov swore on oath that he did not proposition the children, but the judge dismissed his testimony. Sheriff Niven-Smith stated he was entirely satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Belov’s sexual comments were the trigger for the entire incident.
Violent Assault Hospitalized One Child
The court heard details of the violent attack on the group of girls. Nadjedzha Belova grabbed a 13-year-old by the hair, dragged her to the ground, and struck her in the head. Her brother threw a 12-year-old girl to the ground. One of the young victims required hospitalization due to the severity of her injuries.
The mother of one victim welcomed the prosecution, stating that her daughter and the other girls were telling the truth and had been slandered. She expressed relief that the facts had finally emerged after what she described as too many lies at the start of the case.
Authorities Spread Disinformation While Decrying Public Discussion
The guilty verdict exposes what appears to have been a deliberate effort by Scottish authorities to misrepresent the incident and protect the migrant attackers while criminalizing their child victims.
Police Scotland has now acknowledged that information they initially provided “did not fully reflect the situation,” though the force has stopped short of issuing an apology to the families or the public who were condemned for discussing the case accurately.
The initial police narrative was seized upon by political figures to attack those raising concerns about migrant behavior. Humza Yousaf, the Pakistani-heritage former First Minister of Scotland known for his focus on race issues, publicly criticized those discussing the case online—individuals who, the court outcome now confirms, were reporting the facts correctly.
The case has become a flashpoint in ongoing debates about migration policy, police accountability, and the suppression of legitimate public concern about crime and child safety in the United Kingdom.
With information from Breitbart News
