progressive_lefty
24th June 2011, 13:40
This is a story that I feel quite passionate about, especially considering this man is from my own country. Taken from freejock.com:
In the early hours of 28 December 2007, 21 year-old Jock and a couple of friends were in Sofia enjoying a night out when Jock witnessed an attack on a young Roma man by a large group of what he understood to be football hooligans. Jock went to help the victim and was then surrounded and attacked by the group. In the subsequent melee, two of the group were wounded, one fatally.
The police arrived on the scene and arrested Jock taking him to the police station where he was questioned and then placed in detention. The police did not search members of the group and did not secure the whole crime scene.
Since late December 2007, Jock has been an inmate of Sofia Prison while he and his family have been desperately working for a fair hearing from the Bulgarian justice system.
The first session of Jock’s appeal was held on 21 October 2010, before three Appeal Court judges. A number of requests were put forward by the defence but only one was accepted. This was a request to re-question five witnesses to explain the discrepancies in their previous testimonies. Two of the witnesses were from the group that attacked the Roma and Jock. The other three were policemen. All five witnesses had stated in their original police statements that there was a fight between the group and Roma and yet during the first trial denied ever having said this.
The Appeal concluded on 19 January 2011 after 5 sessions and a written decision (in Bulgarian) was released in February 2011. Despite their acceptance that there was a fight between the group and Roma prior to Jock confronting the group, the Appeal court upheld the original decision of the Sofia City Court that found Jock guilty of murder with hooliganism and sentenced him to 20 years. In supporting the original decision and verdict the Appeal Court has also ignored key evidence, failed to provide reasons for rejecting the main defence arguments and refused defence requests to review critical forensic and CCTV evidence. Jock’s final avenue for justice within Bulgaria is the Court of Cassation and his case will be heard on 16 May 2011It seems very obvious that there was several flaws in the case, and that the court had little sympathy for the Roma people that were attacked. I think if there's anything to say, its that at least Jock will know for the rest of his life that he had the courage to stand up to such a thing occuring. Maybe he'll be in jail for the rest of his life, but least he didn't look the other way and ignore it. If he had, he may have had to have lived with watching that group of thugs beat two Roma men to death.
In the early hours of 28 December 2007, 21 year-old Jock and a couple of friends were in Sofia enjoying a night out when Jock witnessed an attack on a young Roma man by a large group of what he understood to be football hooligans. Jock went to help the victim and was then surrounded and attacked by the group. In the subsequent melee, two of the group were wounded, one fatally.
The police arrived on the scene and arrested Jock taking him to the police station where he was questioned and then placed in detention. The police did not search members of the group and did not secure the whole crime scene.
Since late December 2007, Jock has been an inmate of Sofia Prison while he and his family have been desperately working for a fair hearing from the Bulgarian justice system.
The first session of Jock’s appeal was held on 21 October 2010, before three Appeal Court judges. A number of requests were put forward by the defence but only one was accepted. This was a request to re-question five witnesses to explain the discrepancies in their previous testimonies. Two of the witnesses were from the group that attacked the Roma and Jock. The other three were policemen. All five witnesses had stated in their original police statements that there was a fight between the group and Roma and yet during the first trial denied ever having said this.
The Appeal concluded on 19 January 2011 after 5 sessions and a written decision (in Bulgarian) was released in February 2011. Despite their acceptance that there was a fight between the group and Roma prior to Jock confronting the group, the Appeal court upheld the original decision of the Sofia City Court that found Jock guilty of murder with hooliganism and sentenced him to 20 years. In supporting the original decision and verdict the Appeal Court has also ignored key evidence, failed to provide reasons for rejecting the main defence arguments and refused defence requests to review critical forensic and CCTV evidence. Jock’s final avenue for justice within Bulgaria is the Court of Cassation and his case will be heard on 16 May 2011It seems very obvious that there was several flaws in the case, and that the court had little sympathy for the Roma people that were attacked. I think if there's anything to say, its that at least Jock will know for the rest of his life that he had the courage to stand up to such a thing occuring. Maybe he'll be in jail for the rest of his life, but least he didn't look the other way and ignore it. If he had, he may have had to have lived with watching that group of thugs beat two Roma men to death.