UK disregards Bulgarian court verdict

British Justice Secretary Jack Straw last week issued a pardon to a fan of Liverpool FC who was found guilty of attempted murder in Bulgaria four years ago. The daily Dnevnik comments: "Whether [football fan] Michael Shields is guilty is difficult to say. In the current situation his pardoning by Jack Straw is effectively the one-off implementation of a judiciary protective clause. Even if he tries to present it differently: a politician like Straw is aware of the consequences of his actions and is trying to act diplomatically and avoid offending the Bulgarian court by talking of 'new evidence' that was unknown to the Bulgarian court and which is now in his hands. However he did not conceal the fact that he released Shields because he considers him innocent. Although the pardon comes across as a routine legal act from the point of view of the Bulgarian institutions it is the non-recognition of a Bulgarian verdict."

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