Bulgarian Expertise Piles up Pressure on Australian Stabber
Sofia News Agency
February 24, 2008
Australian national Jock Palfreeman, accused of stabbing to death a 20-year-old in Bulgaria, has acted in full consciousness, experts have concluded.
The psychiatric expertise shows that the defendant was aware of the consequences of his actions and does not have grounds to plead insane, the Bulgarian News Agency reported, citing sources from the prosecutor’s office.
Paul “Jock” Palfreeman, 21, is behind bars in a Bulgarian jail after being charged with murder after an alleged street brawl in the capital Sofia at the end of December. Palfreeman also faces a charge of attempted murder over the alleged stabbing of a 19-year-old man during the fight.
The deadline for collecting materials on the case expires on February 28.
Bulgarian court experts claim Palfreeman’s defence, who says he was acting in self-defence, is not backed by any evidence, with no further details of the case revealed so far.
Palfreeman, who is a trainee soldier in the British army, wanted British defence officials present to ensure a fair and transparent hearing because of fears that police and witnesses are not being objective.
But British army officials rejected the request, saying that because the man was not in Bulgaria for official defence purposes the matter was being treated as a consulate matter.
Australian stabber in Bulgaria was aware of his actions – report
Alex Bivol
Sofia Echo
February 25, 2008
Australian Paul “Jock” Palfreeman, accused of the stabbing murder of Andrei Monov and attempted murder of Anton Zahariev, was fully aware of his actions, Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) reported on February 24 2008, quoting unnamed sources in the Prosecutor’s Office.
Monov died on his way to the hospital on December 28 2007, after he was stabbed in the back with a knife by Palfreeman. Zahariev was injured in the same incident.
Court experts said the Australian could not claim temporary insanity as his defence, BTA said. Palfreeman has denied the accusations, claiming he acted in self-defence when the men turned on him after he intervened in a fight between the men and a Roma.
The court denied bail on the basis of the severity of the case, for which the accused could be sentenced to between 10 and 20 years in jail or life imprisonment with or without the possibility of commutation. Additionally, Palfreeman did not have a permanent address and the court considered there was a risk he would hide, mediapool.bg has said.
Prosecutors have until February 28 to collect evidence for their bill of indictment and are confident of meeting the deadline, BTA reported.
Palfreeman, a trainee soldier in the British army, had asked British defence officials to be present at his hearings to ensure a fair and transparent trial, fearing that police and witnesses are not being objective. But since he was not in Bulgaria for official defence purposes the matter “is being treated as a consulate matter”, the British Ministry of Defence said at the time.
Andrei Monov, 20, was the son of known psychologist and Sofia University professor Hristo Monov. His funeral was attended by 250 guests, including school friends, members of the Levski fanclub and government officials, mediapool.bg said.
- See also : Happy New Year, Suckers! // Justice 4 Jock (January 1, 2008) | Palfreeman not scared, did duty (says Mister Miranda) (January 7, 2008) | ‘Murder accused has star status’ (Er… Marnie? Um…) (January 20, 2008)
Looks like your mate stabby-boy is going down for the count @ndy.
A SYDNEY man is set to spend the rest of his life in a Bulgarian jail with evidence he wilfully attacked a group of university students with the aim of killing them.
Former St Ignatius’ Riverview College student Jock Palfreeman was charged late last year with murder after he allegedly stabbed to death a 20-year-old Andrei Monov and injured three other men in a fight on a public street.
The 21-year-old Palfreeman had claimed he was going to the aid of a gypsy who was being beaten up on a street in the capital Sofia, when he himself was set upon by a group of youths.
But prosecutors yesterday revealed CCTV footage showed there was no fight prior to the attack by Palfreeman and no case for self defence.
DT
So what was it that made Jock stab some poor bugger in the back?
A touch of insanity? (Sorry your Honour, my mind went all blank and I woke up covered in his blood…)
Or defending the phantom Gypsy? (Who wasn’t seen by 75 witnesses and isn’t on ANY of the CCTV footage…)
I smell a touch of bullshit from young Mr Palfreeman…
Finally! To all his lying, bleeding heart mates, justice is almost served!
What’s happened? The prosecution has apparently only now completed compiling evidence against Jock — according to Miranda, a task scheduled to be completed by the end of February (it’s almost April). The prosecution claims that CCTV footage reveals no ‘Gypsy’, and instead demonstrates that Jock launched an unprovoked attack, one that not only resulted in the death of one innocent (Andrei Monov), but injuries to three others.
A few points:
1) The defence has yet to put its case.
2) “It is understood some of the footage taken on the night of the incident on December 28 last year had been accidentally erased but prosecutors said other security cameras were enough to convict the man and hand him the toughest sentence of life without parole”; if correct, there would appear to remain scope for the defence to argue still that Jock was acting in self-defence.
The real test remains.
I can safely predict that Jock’s “mates” will suddenly start complaining about “fair trials” when the gates slam on young Jock’s ass in a few weeks time.
It’s funny how when it’s a left wing radical stabbing some poor bugger in the back he is an innocent hero…
I wonder what “@ndy” et al would say if it had been a member of the British National Front stabbing a Muslim in the back… I doubt “justified force”, “self defence” and “all round nice guy” would be mentioned.
Face it chaps, this guy is a psycho wanker and the entire world is better with him behind bars. It’s one less prick trying to stab me in a Sydney bar on a Friday night.
Why do these plonkers carry knives everywhere??? Jock’s “excuse” was he had been attacked several times already in Bulgaria. What the F##K had he been doing? Is it the company he keeps perhaps?
Maybe, just maybe, young Jock went over there looking for trouble…
The big question in my mind is will he be such a hard case Rambo when he is bending down for the soap and some lonely young Bulgarian chap taps his posterior in an attempt to start an interesting relationship. 🙂
A few points:
The facts surrounding the case remain disputed. This includes the manner in which Andrei and others were stabbed, how, and why. Jock continues to maintain his initial story, while the prosecution continues to maintain that he launched an unprovoked, drunken, and deadly assault — for no apparent reason other than, perhaps, that Jock is pathological. His trial will presumably shed some further light on these facts, and it is certainly to be hoped that it is fair and that Jock is able to mount a defence, rather than being judged, as you judge him, to be guilty prior to its conduct.
Beyond this, your observations and speculations are fairly worthless as far as I can tell, based as they are on all kinds of suppositions for which there is no evidence. Further, most concern issues which I have already addressed in another thread. For whatever reason, you appear to have same kind of grudge against Jock, and your phantasies of his being raped in prison may presumably explain why you choose to remain anonymous.
Thanks for playing.
Andy, I don’t see you publishing your name and address here mate…
I have a grudge against any c##t who carries a knife “to protect himself” then f##ks off to a bar and ends up stabbing someone WHATEVER the reason.
And I don’t like the bunch of apologists and adoring fans of Jock’s who think that just because he went to a “good school” and had a few leftist tendencies he must be an all round good guy.
Let’s have a small bet ehhh Andy. If Jock is found guilty you publish your full name and address, and I will do the same if he gets off…
No, I haven’t published my name and address here. I also think it certain Jock will be found guilty of a crime. The real question is what crime, and what punishment.
Osmosis Bum Loader: maybe you should actually read the earlier posts and see how this came to our attention. PRO TIP: it wasn’t an a priori assumption of his guilt or innocence, but the fact that Jock claimed it was self-defense and around the beating of another local based on their ethnicity. Like I’ve said elsewhere, whether he’s lying or not, that in itself is worth examining.
Nothing so far in the Palfreeman case is self-evidentiary. The likelihood of the killing being motivated solely by his insanity is pretty low, as is the likelihood of Palfreeman going to Bulgaria with the intention of killing a man and injuring others. There’s also no evidence of him being a left wing radical. It appears that Jock has had no association with any political group other than the Armed Forces since he was a teenager. I notice that doesn’t get much of a mention.
The State often claims to have overwhelming evidence to force a plea before trial, so until I see actual evidence it don’t mean shee-it. You don’t seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer, so I’ll put it this way: why would the State prosecution feel the need to proclaim overwhelming evidence outside of the court after admitting that possibly crucial evidence has been lost?
The evidence of your fuckwittery is much more apparent than Jock Palfreeman’s guilt: you self-censor the word ‘fuck’, put words in quotation marks as if that changes their meaning and use the word ‘plonker’.
In my experience, the biggest fuckwits are the ones who invoke rape as a tool of justice. It’s pretty weird for the “big question” on your mind to be whether he’ll be like Rambo while being raped, and then to put a smiley face after detailing your fantasy.
Nothing you’ve said is worth paying attention to. If it helps you to think that conclusion can only be drawn because you’ve spoken too much truth, go nuts. As long as stop sharing your creepy rape-as-punishment stories.
Case closed.
Nothing you’ve said is worth paying attention to. If it helps you to think that conclusion can only be drawn because you’ve spoken too much truth, go nuts. As long as you stop sharing your creepy rape-as-punishment stories.
Ok.
@ndy: I mentioned you not publishing your name in answer to your comment ”which may explain why you chose to remain anonymous”. We are both anonymous mate, or didn’t you notice?
Lumpen: oh dear oh dear. You are right, I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer (not a particularly good analogy when we are discussing a stabbing incident). But let my blunt blade attempt to refute your points:
Firstly, your comment “there is no evidence of him being a left wing radical”. Sorry mate, he was a member of Resistance, the left wing radical student movement. I won’t bother posting the links, the experience in internet research will do you good. Just Google Jock Palfreeman resistance/anti war/Rudd etc. Or buy a back issue of Green Left.
The sheer fact that he protested at the Iraq War and then joined the British Army brings his sanity into doubt. You might wonder why Jock didn’t join the Australian army… (I know, but I am not saying).
Secondly, real life isn’t like Boston Legal. What is going on right now is the Bulgarian version of what we would call a Committal Hearing. Go look the bloody thing up. It examines the evidence to determine if there is a prima facie case to put before the court. It’s in the interests of both the prosecution and the defence to present strong evidence to reinforce their position.
Instead of commenting upon my “fuckwittery” perhaps your time would be better spent trying to understand the law in general and the vagaries of this case in particular.
Thirdly, we have read a lot about “self defence” in this case. This is not a concept at law. You are allowed to use “reasonable force” to protect yourself. However this reasonable force comes with some constraints.
You cannot, for instance, claim reasonable force if you instigate the incident. So if you pick a fight, find yourself losing, and then kill the other fellow you CANNOT use this defence.
Another constraint is “alternate options”. If you could have run away, or avoided the incident, but did not, then you CANNOT use this defence.
A final one is the level of “reasonable force” used to counter any incident. You can only use minimum force to protect yourself. You CANNOT use more force than your attacker.
So let’s run these three constraints over Jock’s case shall we:
He (supposedly) gets involved in someone else’s fight. Fail test one.
He had the option of running away, but didn’t. Fail test two.
He used a knife to counter boys who were “throwing stones”. Fail test three.
As you rightly say, CASE CLOSED.
Stabby Boy that’s funny. Anyway I would love to hear what he has to say about Gypsies after he spends a few years locked up with them. Why would someone do this? Maybe he was encouraged by people such as you and Mathew Henderson to persecute and deliver judgment on people you deem Nationalist or Racist? Gutless toads the lot of ya.
Old Andy is good at telling people what to do and how to do it. Yet he never shows up at anything he organizes. What no wheelchair access Andy?
Osmosis Bum Loader: So, being aware that it’s a committal hearing, you still insist that the prosecution’s statements to the press and elsewhere are to be accepted as uncontroverted fact. I stand by my statement that it is part of a concerted effort to force a plea before trial. Ignore at your own peril.
I’ve already stated my position on Jock’s guilt, so I won’t rehash it. Who are you arguing with exactly? Who doesn’t understand the concept of reasonable force? These are rhetorical questions, btw.
At least you stopped the punitive raping sermons. Yeesh.
Actually Lumpen, I think the anal rape deterent is a pretty good one.
If ONE young man reads this and decides NOT to take a knife with him when he goes to the bar tonight then one more life might be saved.
I really dont give a stuff about Jock – he will be found guilty or otherwise. But I do care about other idiots like him who think it’s “cool” to carry a blade. I care because in a moment of alcohol fueled stupidity they end some other guy’s life.
If you don’t understand that, then I hope you meet “Jock” in a dark alley one night.
Yes of course the prosecution tries to force a plea, and the defence tries to get the charge dropped. Trust me, I have a good friend doing 25 years for murder so I am well aware of how it works.
She (and yes it’s a girl) thought it was cool to carry a gun, because like Jock she believed all of this crap. Some young guy died. Arraignment, Committal, Trial, Appeal (funded by me at a staggering cost – more than the price of a Porsche) Retrial and she has a further 18 to go…
Listen children, Jock wasn’t a good guy. He wasn’t smart or cool to carry a gun. He was a cunt. Dont idolise the prick…
OBL: Well, as long as we’re setting records straight, I think it’s cool to carry guns and knives, or guns that shoot knives. Obviously not as cool as the anal rape deterrent theory though (I hope you never have kids that get caught shoplifting, btw).
Again I direct you to earlier comments, where similar sentiments were expressed (by myself at least) as to the tragedy of the deaths regardless of the actual motives. Hooray, we’re all morally outraged at killings.
I therefore put it to you that you’re using a strawman argument. No-one has the position you are arguing against.
…why am I feeding the trolls? Meh, I give up. OBL is right. Killing people isn’t cool. Rape is okay as long as it’s for good reasons. Whatever.
P.S. The supposedly missing CCTV footage has turned up on YouTube. There’s a few Lefties feeling very smug tonight!
Just released – Jock has a fight with a black guy
osmosis Bum Loader,
I know this is a little late but…
You’ve have put forward both some valid and some pretty flawed arguments but I want to know [who] you are. You have an obvious vendetta against Jock, rather than a commitment to true and transparent processes of justice. I believe you to be someone who knew Jock in his younger years, and obviously not in a friendly way.
I am no coward and believe that this forum is a haven for cowards to hide behind their computer screens. I want you to take off your figurative mask and name yourself. I’m not a hypocrite either so I have prematurely reciprocated.
My name is Martin Silk and I attended St. Ignatius’ College with him for 4 years, I have been a good friend of Jock’s for over 8 years. I think it is fair that I remain friends with him just as you still “…have a good friend doing 25 years for murder”.
I hope that now, you have the courage to admit who you are. You have no reason to fear reprisal as I am a pacifist and an apolitical person. Likewise, I fear no reprisal from you because you yourself are against violence, or at least that has been the main weight of your argument.
Sincerely,
Martin Silk.
Why is it that, after 12 months have passed, all incriminating evidence (ie online video content) of “Jock” Palfreeman has been removed from sites such as Youtube and AOL?
Through online videos of Palfreeman, for all the world to see, I witnessed him making a snowman out of snow during a trip to the Bue Mountains some years earlier (Victoria) in Winter, and then after he made the snowman, he continued to punch it repeatedly, and then stab it many times with a “weapon”, yelling “@#$%ing WOG!!!”. Then he violently slices off its head.
In a second video on AOL (no longer online – isn’t THAT interesting) he was seen under the effects of massive amounts of alcohol and other substances, going into an uncontrollable rage – smashing and destroying just about everything he could see. Showing no respect for property or the destruction he was causing. Windows, chairs, carpet, plants, desks, walls… all destroyed.
Could someone like this really stab another man?
I ask you to come to your own conclusions.
Judge Judy…
It’s been stated a few times that the video taken at the snow was NOT of jock. I was at the snow with jock that year (Mount Perisher, not the Blue Mountains or Victoria). Jock was filming another friend playing in the snow. You can hear Jock laughing from behind the camera, and I have photographs of the other friend with his goggles off wearing the same ski clothes. Any arguments regarding Jock’s apparently “violent” nature stemming from this video are entirely false.
Regardless, it was a couple of 16/17 year old boys playing in the snow after a day of skiing. There was nothing violent or aggressive about it.
Please stop with the uninformed and ignorant accusations, they’re doing nothing for your cause. The video was removed because people like you don’t understand the meaning of “evidence” and get off on childish gossip. Grow up.
Ash
Having lived and worked in Bulgaria for over a year (I left last summer) the sad fact is that videos of someone who may or may not be the bloke in question acting a bit daft are easily enough to convict him in a Bulgarian court when the establishment is looking for such a conviction.
Bulgaria, like most of the Balkans, operates on rumour rather than fact and anything printed in the press needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.
The justice system is hopelessly corrupt and in need of reform (European commission words, not mine) and works to the favour of those with influence. Jock’s victim was the son of some minor celeb and this is going to count against him.
EU pressure is being brought to bear slowly to sort out the justice system but even in cases where the Bg courts are forced via international pressure to make some pretence of justice being done, such as the case of a drug dealer jailed for four years and Maxim Staviski jailed for 2.5, the perpetrators are often seen out and about in night clubs whilst supposedly in prison.
I know nothing about the specifics of the case of this guy Jock but I do know that he is not being held in country known for its fair and transparent legal system.
Judge judy, first of all jock has never used aol, so there never was any video of him there
The snow video is obviously not jock cause the guy is BLACK!
If you want i’ll send you the video
And this video you talk about him smashing stuff up again isn’t him, actually he was sleeping when that occurred as he had work early the next day
And tell me where in the blue mountains has snow like that?
Those arguing that the Bulgarian legal system is fair clearly have not followed the case. The Bulgarian system of justice is not “just” by most reasonable standards and has consistently resisted the defense highlighting serious inconsistencies in prosecution witness accounts, and the fact that many witness accounts changed significantly from original statements to what was later tendered in court. It is certainly tragic that a young man died. The greater tragedy that is that the Bulgarian legal system has clearly proved itself incapable of establishing truth and is destroying the life of another young man in the process.
I suppose that The Good News is that it’s still possible for Jock to lodge an appeal. Further, that the EU has some degree of oversight; which, given that Jock is facing 20 years, is probably where his case will eventually end up.
See also : Strasbourg Court Sanctions Bulgaria for Failure to Bring Perpetrators of Racist Killing to Justice, ERRC, 2007-08-06.
@Mr. Correz to believe that the Bulgarian legal system is fair, you must be out of your mind or really perverted!
I am a Bulgarian but I think that Mr. Pafreeman did the right thing and I sympathize with him.
This is not at all the first time that such a band attacks on the streets foreigners or gypsies. In fact this country is overwhelmed with violence like no other place in Europe, and the police is doing nothing to improve the situation, in fact they like it this way!
And Mr. Osmosis, whom I assume is some nationalistic Bulgarian trying to defend his pals, must not forget that these were not some mere University students, as he is trying to present them to us — this was a street gang of very drunk and filled with vehement hate Nazi skinhead football fans.
Here is another case of Bulgarian football skinheads:
http://www.bghelsinki.org/index.php?module=news&lg=en&id=1849
‘On Wednesday, 2nd December 2009, Jock was found guilty of premeditated murder and attempted murder with antisocial (hooligan) intent. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, and a 450,000 leva (375,000 AUD) fine.
We believe this to be a hideous perversion of justice, as it contradicts all evidence available. Jock will be appealing the decision.’
Oh God, I didn’t understand they had already come with a verdict. Of course this is sheer injustice, I really pray that Jock does not lose his heart and consider how many other Bulgarians apart from him, who cannot even afford a lawyer, suffer from this profoundly corrupt and utterly screwed up law system each year.
Interestingly enough, the CCTV had an “accidental glitch” on the hard drive and erased the fight scene. How frigging convenient of the Bulgarian prosecutor to have one of the most crucial piece of evidence to mysteriously disappear.
What about the friend of Jock who was there and wanted to testify but was not granted her right to do so? Why were “all” the witnesses at the vicinity “refused” to testify for or against anyone? They were apparently intimidated by the neo-Nazi nationalistic hooligans. And isn’t it interesting that the father of the alleged victim marched, with armbands, along side of these radical right wing nationalists?
On what part of the planet a man comes for aid of another man who is being ravagingly beaten up by 15 people and in self defense, draws a knife to ward away the attackers yet still his action is not deemed “self defense?” Bulgaria… a land that’s merely good for human sex trafficking and hooliganism. When is EU going to rescind their membership? Thank to whoever that we in the US don’t import these animals in large numbers. How’s that for being bias? Wail on that…
I think there is something awry about the way the case was handled in terms of evidence and witness tampering but I am also surprised that:
15 bulgarian football hooligans
take on:
1 australian tourist
in their own turf, and come out with 1 dead mate, one injured mate, and then stitch up a court case to convict him. I imagine the hooligans from other clubs are laughing all the way to the next fixture. What kind of outfit are these Levski fans running? They tried to attack him after he was in custody, and when the police were there? They are ridiculous.
Also, regarding the troll statements about prison rape. Prison rape is no joke, and nor should it be part of the punishment. Luckily in Australia and the UK prison rape is very rare, but in America it is as high as 1 in 5 inmates reporting sexual abuse (http://www.justdetention.org/). Bulgaria doesn’t have a large problem with it, but the prison situation in Bulgaria is pretty dire. In nearby Romania there have been documented cases of prisoners drawing straws to hammer nails into each others’ heads in order to get into the prison hospital (see Vivien Stern, “A Sin Against the Future: Imprisonment in the World”). Jock is in solitary as far as I know and I am sure it is not a pleasant place. Hopefully he can learn bulgarian and do a trouble free bid, but 20 years is an awfully long stretch.
to judge judy(Ash).first of all hi from bulgaria.i’m bulgarian so if i make a mistakes in eng. don’t laugh at me.so ash (or judy),not everyone who beats a piniata or a snowman is a potential killer.just think about that.as a bulgarian citizen i feel more save when i’m carrying a knife in my pocket.this is the real life in my beautifull fucking country.i hope this guy will see the freedom soon,cause if he stays in bulgarian prison more than a 5 years,then he will become a real monster,believe me.
I notice that whenever an Australian goes overseas, inevitably gets into trouble, blames everyone else but himself/herself, there is always a claim made as to the “inherently corrupt” government/court process.
I just think if Palfreyman killed someone overseas, he has to face the consequences. I realise this sort of crime would get a ‘slap on the wrist’ here but in Bulgaria they view killing a fellow human being somewhat more seriously.
G’day Svetlana,
If you’d like to make a serious comment, please feel free. See : Free Jock Palfreeman! January 2011 Update.
Andy, save the bullshit mate. It’s crystal clear, the guy goes clubbing with a knife, gets in a fight and kills a bloke. He’s getting what he deserves. Keep it simple, because life really is simple.
I think you’re pretty simple Sammy.
So are you, you’re just too simple to realise that.
“Touché!”
While I never condone going out drinking with friends and carrying a knife, what would have happened if he didn’t?
It was found by a psychologist (Bulgarian) that he had a tendency to assist people in need. Which he did. He saved a Roma man from being killed by a drunken soccer mob, who were only chasing him because he was Roma. No other reason.
It was said in an earlier post that the mob had no weapons. So did the concrete slab that struck Jock in the head materialise out of nowhere? It’s possible, as new statements from witnesses seem to materialise from thin air.
And how is it that FIVE independent witnesses, no relation or association with Jock, all corroborate his story of how events unfolded, only to have them all change at the court proceedings? And then, when they are all recalled only two can be found, and those two have now changed their statements back to what they said originally?
As for not being able to find the Roma youth attacked. Of course they are not going to find him as he is probably dead already. It is a common fact that there is a hatred of Roma people in Bulgaria (not all Bulgarians), and there have been reports of children being murdered.
Also, let’s not forget that “Dr” Hristo Monov claimed that his son never drank, yet the autopsy revealed that Andrei’s blood alcohol reading was almost three time higher than that of Jock Palfreeman’s. So either Andrei lied to his father about drinking, or Hristo turned a blind eye to it.
The fact of the matter is that a man went to the aid of another, and in doing so accidentally killed one person and injured another. While the loss of life is tragic, and should never be taken lightheartedly, the biggest tragedy is that a man now sits in a cold rundown prison for defending the life of another human being.
To all those “religious” people out there, doesn’t your text teach you this is a good thing? That we should help our fellow man, or does it not apply in Bulgaria?
I for one will do my best to make sure he is released and expose the corrupt and decaying corpse that is the Bulgarian legal system.
Although I have seen vast improvement over the last 10 years I agree that Bulgarian system is still corrupt but normally this is for financial game – or to save some Mafia (Mutri) idiot, or award a road, garbage, or car parking contract.
What would be the benefit to the Bulgarian Government? I personally think the sentence is disproportionate. In trying to be fair – what is the typical sentence Bulgarians get for this type of incident – it must have happened before?
In UK or Australia this sentence would be unheard of – but what about Bulgaria? Is this a normal sentence for them? Since they are now part of Europe should we not have a standard of sentencing across Europe (at least)? If he was in US might have death sentence – if he is guilty or not guilty and /or deserves the sentence or not I do not know – but at least let a European citizen serve terms in home country if they want to.
The entire trial was a farce, like some horrible travesty from the American South in some backwoods town.
The CCTV footage from the front of the building where the incident with the Roma occurred (in which Monov and friends were stomping on the faces of two homeless Roma men) was at first claimed by the prosecution to have been ‘deleted’ and when the defence was able to find experts to retrieve it from the computer then the computer was strangely and mysteriously ‘blown up’. The police gave written statements after the incident which coincided with those of Palfreeman but when they turned up in court they made statements which were completely different. When the defence asked for the written police statements to be read out to the court, Hristo Monov and the prosecution refused to allow it. The written statements would have confirmed Palfreeman’s claim that he went to the aid of two Roma men who were being beaten and stomped on and was then pursued by a gang of fifteen men who had knives, by the way, and kicked, beaten, and had concrete blocks hurled at his head. Palfreeman was in fact struck on the head and fell to the ground at one point but was able to get back up. If he hadn’t I have no doubt that the gang would have killed him.
Forensic evidence states that Monov was in fact stabbed with a dagger, a knife which Palfreeman did not have. One expert stated that the knife which stabbed Monov appears to have had a double edge, again making it not the knife Palfreeman had. The knife put forward as the murder weapon did not have Palfreeman’s fingerprints on it. Curiouser and curiouser, isn’t it? Or would be, if you didn’t know that Monov set out from the start to lock Palfreeman up and throw away the key. In a civilized court in a civilized country Palfreeman’s plea of self-defence would have seen him acquitted. He did the right thing, standing up for decency and civilized values against an armed, violent racist gang. For this courageous act his reward has so far been twenty years in jail. Hristo Monov used the legal system as his own private weapon of revenge and destroyed evidence and either coerced or bribed witnesses to change their stories. [snip]
Osmosis bum loader it’s all very well to make lists but you’re ignoring the facts. Those sixteen racists CHOSE to attack two homeless Roma for fun. That was their decision. When Jock Palfreeman intervened and the Roma were able to escape the drunken racists did NOT have to pursue Palfreeman down the street. They did not have to kick him, beat him and throw concrete blocks at his head. He was one person, they were fifteen and he posed no threat to them whatsoever, until it became clear to him that they intended to beat his head in.
Palfreeman DID walk away after holding the knife above his head to show them he was armed, thinking they would then leave him alone. They made a choice not to leave him alone, to pursue him down the street and to offer the same extreme violence to him that they had offered the Roma. In the end Palfreeman’s only choice was fight or die and he only drew the knife after he was struck from behind by these violent, drunken cowards and fell to the ground. He told a reporter from the ‘Sofia Echo’ that as he went down he believed at that moment that he would die. He got to his feet and drew the knife.
Why?
He described the attack on him in these terms:
“I wish the court could have seen the eyes of the attacking men. They attacked me like a pack of dogs. Several of them were throwing cement blocks at me and then running back for more, while others continued. It was a rolling, continuous attack.”
I’d like to know what you would have done in that situation. Lie down and be killed or defend yourself with the only weapon you have? But, on the other hand, I suppose someone who thinks anal rape is a ‘deterrent’ simply doesn’t have the intellectual equipment to grasp the facts or to comprehend the surreal injustice of this trial, beginning with the ludicrous charge of first degree murder and continuing on through the destruction of evidence and the alteration of witness statements to the written statement of the judge’s reasoning, which reads like a satire of a judgement and scolds Palfreeman for daring to think he had the right to defend decency and civilization.
It also contains outrageous statements portraying Palfreeman as a crazed killer which are not based in fact and not backed up by any evidence whatsoever. It is a fact, however, that numerous Bulgarian citizens walked past and completely ignored what was happening, even when Palfreeman was calling out for help.