Bulgaria: One Night in Sofia - Part 2

'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others' - George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

The above Orwellian quote is an indictment on the hypocrisy of governments that proclaim the absolute equality of their citizens but give power and privileges to a small elite. The transparency and fairness of a country's legal system is one way of measuring the level of westernisation achieved by its social and political establishment.

Take the Borilski case. Martin Borilski was a young 24 year old Bulgarian fourth year law student in Paris. In July 2000 he was murdered after being stabbed 93 times by two Bulgarians that managed to flee France. Despite the damning forensic evidence gathered by the French police and submitted to the Bulgarian court, the alleged Bulgarian murderers were acquitted by the Bulgarian legal system. As it turns out, one of the two Bulgarian defendants is none other than the son of a former senior official of the Bulgarian department of education. Had the criminal proceedings been heard in a French court (or in the court of any other EU member country) the charges would mostly likely have led to a guilty verdict. The result of the Bulgarian trial is a denial of justice in favour of the politically influential elite in Bulgaria. Apparently not all are equal before the law in Bulgaria.

In 2008 the Economist wrote of a highly critical EU Commission report on the Bulgarian justice system. Not one of dozens of gangland killings since 2001 has been solved; nor has any senior official been successfully prosecuted. The recent kidnapping of the president of a leading football club and then his wife have highlighted Bulgaria's lawlessness and the apparent helplessness of the authorities.

The Palfreeman case addressed in this video is another example of hypocrisy in Bulgaria gone out of control. It is not disputed that the actions of the 21 year old Jock Palfreeman had a causal effect on the death of the 20 year old Bulgarian law student Andrei Monov. What is disturbing is the way in which the Bulgarian establishment and the authorities managed the affair. From the outset the Bulgarian media demonised the young Australian as a trained killer out to indulge in a killing spree in Bulgaria. The manipulation and tampering of witness statements and evidence by the Bulgarian authorities is not conducive to a fair trial, nor is the interference by the Bulgarian political establishment in the legal outcome of these criminal proceedings

The 20 year old victim Andrei Monov is the son of the famous Bulgarian psychologist Hristo Monov. As with the Borilski case, the Palfreeman case demonstrates that the Bulgarian courts prioritise the interests of the Bulgarian social and political elite rather than the pursuit of justice. When approached by the crew of this Australian documentary video, Hristo Monov refused to be interviewed, claiming that he would "not speak to the media from a country that created such a monster." While Hristo Monov's anger at the defendant is understandable, the blatant anti-western sentiment is typical of most members of the Bulgarian ex-communist establishment. Some old cold war habits in Bulgarian society die hard. Hence the anti-western subtext in the comments of the Bulgarian chattering classes that are decrying Palfreeman supposedly for his alleged crime - but in reality, over his 'western' origin.

So is the Palfreeman case really about the pursuit of justice over an alleged murder of a Bulgarian national by a western tourist? Or is Palfreeman the focus of Bulgarian condemnation of the western European system that has frequently criticised Bulgaria over corruption, to the point where the EU has now frozen billion of dollars of funding to Bulgaria?

In the Palfreeman case it is expected that the justice system in Bulgaria will give way to the bloodlust of nationalist mob rule in Bulgaria that is fuelled by traditional anti-western sentiment. This will lead to legitimate questions over whether Bulgaria is truly ready to be part of the EU community. Did the West make an error of judgment by concluding that Bulgaria will adapt to western cultural values upon membership of the EU? Time will tell.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• България
• Бугарија
• Bugarija
• Бугарска
• Bugarska
• Bulgar
• Bulgaria
• bulgarie
• Bulgarians
• Sofia
• Sophia
• София
• Софија
• Australia
• Sydney
• Австралия
• Сиднеј
• Сидней
• Jock
• Palfreeman
• Полфриман
• Полфримен
• martin
• borilski
• justice
• murder
• west
• European
• Union
• EU
• Монов
• Христо
• Андрей

[arjaxxx88]

Attacked six times??? Concern for others??? Come on...Bulgaria might be bad, but it doesn't send INNOCENT people to jail. And yes Bulgarians hate gypsies, but its for a reason This video portrays a horrible view of Bulgaria. Besides the question isn't how bad Bulgaria is which the video tries to emphasize, but whether the guy is guilty. He killed a boy and can't prove that it was self defense. Any justice system including the Australian one would send him to jail.

[renegadedaemon]

Australians aren't exactly racially tolerant of other people! One of the most racist nations on earth. Look at your own shit country before you diss Bulgaria. Plus there are Nazis everywhere (unfortunately)

[MrEmretti]

@Roadzery hoho gay , i told you what was gypsy tradition , language , culture. all of them have common with hindo-iran culture. but you told me turks and gypsyes same ? ahahaha and also told me you were from iran army ? :D hahaha and last you word was you dont have any common with gypsy :D hahaha are you fool ? :D if you are iranic so you are same with gypsyes :D ... deal ? :D egyptian people were arabic and israeli. moron :D

[Roadzery]

@MrEmretti 1st of all, gypsy is an arabic work that was given to indian deserters, in bulgaria 99% of turks and gypgy's are the same slimey bastards, 2nd, Pre-Bulgarians descend from persian armies, 3rd The word Bulgaria means "Rebelious Nation", now, get your dumbass back to school and stop calling ppl with diffrent sexuality stamps.

[MrEmretti]

@Roadzery haha gay bulgarian. turk dosnt has any common with gypsy ! if you know gypsy language and culte is one of old arian tradition. So what türks can have common with gypsyes ? even present day gypsyes had come from Eruope after WW2 !!! haha poor bulgarian if you want any common türks with bulgaria. look at your old name bulgar. it is turkic hahahaha you are sons of bulgars which were raped by slav and greeks and it made you bulgar-IAN :D

[trixwiz7]

@arjaxxx88 WRONG! The Australian legal experts say he'd at the very worst get manslaughter from excessive self defence but more likely still just possession of a dangerous weapon. In Common Law countries there's a jury, which there isn't in Bulgaria. And worse still, in Common Law countries, if there's any reasonable doubt, or if evidence is tampered with, the accused gets let off. Both those things have happened in this case. It's not whether the guy is guilty, but whether he can't be innocent!

[gringoroko]

@ilkawitt

Bulgarin si ili se predstawqsh za bulgarin za da desinformirash? Pokaji che si bulgarin!

[gringoroko]

@Odette321

well, bitch boy, prove that gypsies do not live like kings in Bulgaria! What a stupid demand! U call others stupid but it seems to me that u r the only stupid here.

[gringoroko]

@Odette321

really??? Jocky boy is perhaps some super star like michael jackson that everybody with avarage IQ is expected to know ?? The truth is that i don't give fuck if his name is jock or john or pussy. For me he is just a nigger from australia. Cheers.

[LCentauri]

@Odette321

go live with them for a while and you will experience the proof yourself. Not much more to say- And I am nowhere near Hitler- It is not about racism or anything like it- its about everyday life...

[Odette321]

@gringoroko FYI his name is Jock and you showed your low intelligence and ignorance by not even knowing his name.

[Odette321]

@davidavliz1 the "perp's" father is a doctor i.e. in Australia he is living in a house worth over 2 million dollars and he flies back and forth to Bulgaria to see his son. The father of the dead guy (i.e. gang member) is a psychologist i.e. his son should have known better than to be in a gang of bullies.