Jock Palfreeman is an Australian citizen, currently in prison in Sofia (Bulgaria). He is undergoing trial on a charge of murder and attempted murder, following a clash, in December 2007, between Jock and a group of right-wing football hooligans (the group were assaulting a Roma at the time of Jock’s intervention).
Jock’s most recent court hearing was on Monday, September 28.
Expert witnesses for the prosecution again failed to appear in court — which is somewhat unusual, given that all of those called upon by the prosecution and who failed to appear are state employees. In general, however, it’s not unusual for witnesses to fail to appear in court in Bulgaria, and trial cannot continue unless they do so. Consequently, depending on the circumstances, trial can take a very long time to complete.
Thus far, Jock has been held in prison, undergoing trial, for almost two years.
Delays in Jock’s trial have been numerous and ongoing, while Bulgarian media are apparently claiming that trial has been delayed as a result of the failure of defence witnesses to appear. In reality, both Greyham [?] and Lindsay Welsh — two key defence witnesses who were with Jock on the night — have already tendered evidence to the court.
A forensic report on clothing materials was officially submitted to the court, as were the findings of blood alcohol tests, and a report on the wounds Jock received during the course of the attack upon him in December 2007.
The person responsible for collecting some CCTV footage of the alleged assaults also submitted a report. He was not questioned (but may be in future).
Bulgarian media have been reporting that the available video footage of the clash is unusable and that, therefore, Jock is not implicated in any crime by such evidence. However, these reports fail to consider the fact that the prosecution has actually requested that the relevant video footage be thrown out. Further, this is because — it is claimed by the defence — that the same footage is able to demonstrate that Jock was attacked prior to there being any assault, by Jock, upon the victim, Andrei Monov (a fact also confirmed by previous testimony by members of the group Monov was with).
TO BE CONTINUED…
See also : Jock Palfreeman : July 2009 Update (July 25, 2009) | freejock.net
