Jock & Prison – Australian Student Environment Network

One night in Sofia, Bulgaria, a gang emerges from a train station singing, blood pumping with youth, energy and alcohol. Vulnerable and easy, two Roma men are in their line of vision… and boots… and fists… The mindless assault is interrupted by a man who couldn’t endure the scene. The Roma haul themselves away while the group turns their blood-rush attentions to him and bear down. Slipping, fearing and blacking out under their number this man and his knife swing defensive. Later, one man dies and oblivious to what went wrong, another gives himself to police.

Jock Palfreeman has been in prison in Bulgaria since December 2007. He is an Australian man who lived in the Bulgarian countryside for a while. While back in the country on holiday to visit friends he intervened in a racist attack and was forced to defend himself against a gang of 16 young fascists. One man, Andrei Monov, died and another, Antoan Zahariev, was injured. Jock surrendered to police, knowing that he had acted with integrity and in defence of himself and others1. He did not know that he would spend the next two years enduring a heartbreakingly corrupt and slow trial, at the hands of a notoriously crooked judicial system.

Racial violence and its many forms is everywhere. Nationalism and racism are socialised and normalised from a young age, entrenched in some forms of Bulgarian identity2. When I travelled to Bulgaria, I had conversations with a young Bulgarian man who told me his stories and showed me his neo-Nazi tattoos (that were in the process of removal). He explained to me that it is socially acceptable for young gangs to beat ethnic group that make up about 5% of the population. Of course, the police usually turn a blind eye and so become complicit in this state-sanctioned racism.

Jock’s situation unfolded like a nightmare. As a foreigner, intervening to defend a despised minority and supposedly responsible for the death of a patriot, his truth has an uphill struggle to see daylight. During the trial, the prosecution blocked evidence and witness statements confirming Jock’s story. Relevant footage disappeared and facts were denied or ignored. Nationalist groups have been organising against Jock, holding rallies outside the courtroom demanding a life sentence.

On Wednesday, 2nd December 2009, Jock was found guilty of premeditated murder and attempted murder with antisocial (hooligan) intent. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, and a 450,000 leva (375,000 AUD) fine.

At the time of writing (June 2010) Jock is in isolation in Sofia Central Prison. This means he is alone with no access to books, television and radio, he is unable to work or study and can only leave his cell for 90 minutes a day to exercise alone in the prison courtyard. He is in isolation as a result of laws introduced in June 2009 that prescribe that a foreigner facing a sentence of potentially more than 15 years must remain in isolation until the end of their case, including the end of all appeals. From the time the law was introduced until now, Jock was and is the only prisoner to be affected by the new law.

Jock’s plight is not unique. There are countless people who face arbitrary and corrupt persecution at the hands of police and the “justice” system in Australia and globally. In Australia in recent years we are not strangers to the complicity of the state in violence against Aboriginal people, international students and asylum seekers. Seeking out these stories and offering solidarity to prisoners is crucial to the strengthening of our support systems and the very fabric of resistance. Whilst minds and bodies are incarcerated none of us are free.

Jock’s post-trial statement, made on 3rd December 2009:

The decision made by the Sofia City Court on Wednesday 2 December 2009 was in complete contradiction to all available evidence put before the court.

In the face of all neutral witness statements, testimony from the police, forensic reports, psychological reports, blood alcohol results and the CCTV video footage that confirm my account of events, word for word, in concurrence with my testimony, the court has still declared me guilty of attacking a gang of men with no provocation and/or reason and of the premeditated murder of one man and the attempted murder of another.

This is not only an abomination of justice and my right for a fair and objective trial, but also a green light for football hooligans to continue their attacks on other law abiding members of society, especially racial minorities who are a prime target for such groups within Bulgaria, the EU and the world.

With the blatant bias in every facet of the justice system, from my arrest and investigation to the decision of Sofia City Court, I reject the verdict of wilful murder for anti-social motives and I plead with all members of society from Bulgaria to Australia and all countries between, to help in stopping these 2 years of unjust imprisonment from becoming a 20 year unjust imprisonment.

Write to Jock at:
Jock Palfreeman
Sofia Central Prison
21 Gen. N. Stoletov Bul.
Sofia 1309
Bulgaria