Bulgaria May Give up Taking Michael Shields to Court Again

Michael Shields has repeatedly stated that he wants to clear his name in Bulgaria. File photo

Bulgaria has given the first indication that it does not plan to resume the trial against Michael Shields, who was sentenced by a Bulgarian court to ten years in jail for an attack on a barman, but was recently pardoned by his home country.

"Varna district prosecutor's office, which was the first to receive the dossier on the case, said there are no grounds for resuming the trial against Michael Shields," Stelyana Kozhuharova, spokesperson of the country's senior prosecutor, said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Varna prosecutor's office has also probed the statements of fellow Liverpool fan Graham Sankey, who allegedly confessed to attacking Martin Georgiev then withdrew his admission.

A final decision on how Bulgarian authorities will proceed is yet to be taken.

Michael Shields has repeatedly stated that he wants to clear his name in Bulgaria. During the trial he insisted he was asleep in bed when a concrete slab was dropped on Martin Georgiev's head in a Bulgarian pub.

Another Liverpool fan Graham Sankey, then 20, later confessed to the crime but refused to come back to Bulgaria and give evidence in person. The Bulgarian authorities then refused to consider the evidence.

Sankey subsequently retracted his confession and his solicitor said his client was involved in a different fight.

It is that confession which appears to have persuaded UK Justice Secretary Jack Straw to grant the pardon, although, in an extraordinarily detailed statement issued by the Ministry of Justice on the day of the release he did not mention Sankey by name.

Instead he explained that he had initially felt bound to respect the verdict of the Bulgarian court until being advised after a judicial review this year that it was within his power to grant a pardon.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!