Two Bulgarian siblings convicted of assaulting young girls in Dundee last year are appealing their sentences. Ilia Belov, 23, and his sister Nadjedzha Belova, 20, were sentenced at Dundee Sheriff Court earlier this month following an incident in the Lochee area in August 2025, during which a young girl was seen wielding an axe and a knife in a video that went viral.
Incident and Viral Video
The video, shared widely online, was also posted by Elon Musk, who said the girl was trying to defend herself. Police Scotland initially criticised what it called "misinformation" around the video, but later acknowledged that its own initial response "did not fully reflect the situation".
During the trial, the court heard that Belov made sexual remarks to a 12-year-old girl as she walked towards a bus stop with friends. He then phoned his sister, who arrived and began attacking a 13-year-old member of the group.
Sentences and Appeal
Belov was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months of supervision, 300 hours of unpaid work, and was placed on the sex offender register for 18 months for making sexual remarks to the girl and her friends. Belova pleaded guilty to one charge of assaulting the 13-year-old and was sentenced to 180 hours of unpaid work.
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service confirmed on Tuesday that an appeal against the sentences had been lodged. Belov's solicitor, Larry Flynn, said the appeal would focus on the addition to the sex offenders register, not the supervision or unpaid work order.
Court Details
In the ensuing fracas, Belov pushed the 12-year-old, who told the court she hit her head on a metal handrail as she fell. After standing up, she pulled out an axe and knife she said had been hidden in her waistband for five to 10 minutes before the incident. When police arrived, she said she dumped the weapons on a nearby roundabout, where they were later recovered.
Belov denied making sexualised remarks, telling the court the girls had called him a "f****** migrant". However, Sheriff Niven-Smith rejected his account, describing it as "neither credible nor reliable".
