'Australian Stabber' Sentenced in Bulgaria May Seek Human Rights Court Escape

The European Court of Human Rights may be the final chance for Australian murderer Paul "Jock" Palfreeman to escape jail time in Bulgaria.

This has been hinted by the legal advisor of Palfreeman's family, The Sidey Morning Herald reports.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Cassation, Bulgaria's last instance court of appeal, confirmed Wednesday the 20-year jail sentence of the Australian citizen for murder.

24-year-old Palfreeman murdered Bulgarian university student Andrei Monov (20 years old then) with a stab in the back on December 28 2007 in downtown Sofia. He also injured Monov's 19 year-old friend Antoan Zahariev. The Australian still claims he acted in self-defense.

The Australian was sentenced in December 2009 to 20 years in jail by the Sofia City Court, and then appealed at the Sofia Court of Appeals, which confirmed the sentence.

The Court of Cassation decided that the Sofia Court of Appeals has completely adequately determined Palfreeman's punishment, with the exception of a BGN 720 fee for translation that the defendent had to pay, which has been lifted.

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