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I don't know what to think of "Great Britain" anymore....

Anyways, just this - I am sure it won't be long when this fudge-packer do something worse, hopefully it won't happen in Bulgaria...

Stay out of our country you piece of shit!

I sympathise with you. Had a Bulgarian National committed a similar crime in the U.K. where would he be now, still in a U.K. gaol.
We've used our clout to get him off and it sucks!

If you believe Sankey's confession then you have to accept that he is talking about a completely different assault. Sankey throws a brick at a group of men running at him, the brick hits on of them on the head. HOWEVER the victim in Shields' case had been knocked unconscious moments before the offender stood over him and brought down a paving slab onto his head!
Does anyone else find it impossible to believe that some unwritten hearsay evidence of a confession made by another man was(a)only mentioned to Jack Straw for the first time in August 2009 [...]

Read the full comment
and (b)Sufficent evidence anyway to change Straws mind regarding Shields innocence?
The Shields family must be kicking themselves...
Michael:"Why didn't you tell Mr Straw about the oral confession that you heard in 2005?"...
Dad:"I thought you had!"
Michael:"Well I thought our lawyers had put together everything we had and give it all to Jack in a big bundle of papers,isn't that what we paid them for?"
Dad:"Sorry son, it appears Jack wasn't told until the very last minute."
Michael:" Dad..everyone in the western hemisphere knew about Sankey."

needs to all the time Shields was in prison

Why is this reported as football violence. It was 5 days after the game!
It's more "brits on holiday" that should be the cause celebre of the witch hunt.

i hope the day comes when you have to eat your words michael shields did pass a lie detector test (polygraph) graham sankey confessed to this crime he didnt want to go back to bulgaria so retracted his confesstion beacuse of the bulgaria legal system being corrupt he is the scumbag who is now in hidding your courts should make him come back that would be justice for all

In liverpool they use the courts to free the guilty as we saw in August but ignore those of other countries when they return a verdict they don't like - simply disgraceful

I have just seen an interview on bbc with this scum and as far as i am concerned he is guilty. This gives the British a bad name in BG, he will now write his book with the help of the local dead beat newspapers that will make a fortune from him i would rather walk the streets of Bulgaria than the lawless sreets of Liverpool so to all you good Bulgarian people do not think that all brits are the same please .

Who are all these people in England who were not there and yet KNOW as an absolute fact that Shields is innocent? How can you know that if you didn't see it with your own eyes, if you didn't take part in the investigation, if you weren't present in court when the case was tried? This chauvinistic attitude - he's English therefore he is innocent - has no value in the face of Martin Georgiev's words that he is 100% certain that Shields is the man who threw a paving stone on his head.

Wow another white trash on the streets that’s great, so if you have money and riddle the "newspapers" and "media" everyone gets so afraid they start playing to your tune. If he were innocent why not a court verdict in England, rather an ARBITRARY administrative decision, in a questionable political situation to that?!?!

You know I have always love UK as if my own homeland for its righteousness, order and
truthfulness. I have lived in the UK for a few years too. But today when I saw in the
Bulgarian news that this Straw person has freed Shields I was totally disgusted.
I felt as if he set free all football violence out of the box. And it will be on your own head guys.
Why are you sending the message that violence is okay and you can get away with it?
Why [...]

Read the full comment are you so begging for another Heysel?

This is the victim of this crime: http://www.24chasa.bg/Images/Cache/Image_171748_6.jpg
This is 25 year old Martin Georgiev the bartender that tried to break up the fight and got a 4 kg rock on his head for it and was kicked in by 3 people when down on the ground.
He is still recovering, has had numerous operations and missing 5x5 cm of his skull. He now has a wife and two children, he changed his profession, but his life will never be free of this incident. For the rest of his life. This is a sentence!

I don't know the truth - I wasn't there. However I seriously doubt Straw's decision having in mind
that he didn't speak to any eyewitnesses or to the victim, but believes completely in Micheal's
parents and the mysterious perpetrator.

Okay, say M. Shields is innocent and you know who done it, why don't you put him in
Micheal's place in prison Mr. Straw?? You say it's not your business to do so. Is it your business to let out convicted criminals by our court? BG and UK authorities have worked together on hard BG murder etc cases? Why do you refuse your help on this specific one?? I guess you just don't want to. But why?

Steven, you should do a little research yourself and get your story straight. Or at least try to. You are biased, I am biased. Unfortunately the truth is only one. And you may think that savages live in Bulgaria, but I can tell you I have never seen or heard of people in Bulgaria being killed over a stupid ball game, which is still a major issue in UK! Why do you people think UK didn't get Shields out of prison sooner? It's because the Bulgarian court had a solid case they couldn't say anything against. I researched a lot. [...]

Read the full comment In Bulgarian and English, read both stories. Numerous versions. 20 eyewitnesses, including the victim, Bulgarian and British people! All recognized Shields in a line up of men with white shirts! It may be comfortable for you to think that stupid Bulgarians heard of a room number and convicted whoever was in it, but that's a little daft to believe don't you think?? And anyway what was little angel Michael doing kicking people in the street with his friends if he is so innocent? Their group terrorized the whole hotel before and after the match so everyone remembered them well. They were kicked out of the hotel before the incident. The little angels.
And what is this link you are giving? Where is this confession copied from? I can make the same site, but put Shield's confession there. So what? What for a confession is this if he doesn't know how and with what Martin Georgiev was hit??? Because surely he wasn't hit with a brick! It is still visible today (you don't have to be a doctor to see this) that the mark on his head is circular, not square or rectangular. And I believe the Bulgarian court had much more evidence on the contrary than me to dismiss this confession. If they didn't why didn't UK stand up long ago, but left Michael in prison? And now they are presenting this as a NEW evidence?? It looks to me that Straw is just giving in to the pressure put on him. I can't wait to see what his official response will be as to what are his reasons to free him as innocent. And what's this with Shields passing a polygraph? I didn't see this anywhere in any public story. Do you have some inside information?? Please, share it.

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only thing i can say is british people dont visit bulgaria you might wrongly end up behind bars

how dare you lump michael shields with people that blow up plane this lad is INNOCENT

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How very typical. Here's a couple of oxymorans for you. British Justice, British Decency and British Morality. Won't be long before all these prisoner trasfer agreements will be out the window because the Brit put themselves above anyone else.

get your facts straight michael shields is innocent another man confessed to the attack michael also passed a lie detector 100% and should hold his head up high good luck lad with the rest of your life

Georgiev suffered atrocious injuries, and it's a matter of public record that witness saw these injuries were inflicted by a different person, namely Graham Sankey.

Graham Sankey is racist, he was sent to prison for 5 months for comments about a black person.

But it seems racism is what stopped him going to prison for 15 years. Because Michael Shields' only crime was being English. The police just needed an Englishman, and they left him chained to a radiator for 24 hours in front of any potential witnesses.

[...]

Read the full comment I'm ashamed that Graham Sankey is English. But he's one idiot. If I was Bulgarian I'd be ashamed of my country, and its legal system, for allowing an innocent man to suffer and a guilty man to walk free.

this young man is innocent and justice has been one for him now its time to put the person whodid it behind bars make sanky stand trail

First of all we release a person that blows up planes and kills hundreds. Now we release another scum bag that almost killed an innocent bystander. We also read of people in UK jails that are innocent and spent 15 years for a crime not commited.

So the moral of the story is that there are guilty people walking free and innocent people locked up its a good thing we do not carry out the death penalty anymore isnt it.

Well done Straw. The people of Blackburn know how racist you are already. This goes to show the rest of the country as well.

A DISGRACE.

I feel sorry for the people in jail for something they haven't done. Is it the post communist hangover in Bulgaria? Somebody must be to blame, even someone who wasn't there?

lisa *sigh* youve jumped the gun here and posted beofre you have done a little research into the history of this case, micheal was innocent.. from day 1 .. another uk lad confessed to the crime although still micheal spent 4 long years of his life in the prison system

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so on behalf of the uk and all decent people everywhere i extened my heartfull apologies to you for your stupidity.

as for calling the lad a scum bag .. how dare you ! think if [...]

Read the full comment it was a young memeber of your family how would you feel ?

valeri .. the uk didnt lock up micheal bulgaria did, and the trial was anything but fair, read the article below and you will realise " the justice " micheal got

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so in future research a article in future before you have your pathetic say on it

ive waited 4 long years for this day, jsutice has finally been done ! enjoy the rest of your life micheal.

On behalf of the UK and all decent people everywhere, I extend my heartfelt apologies to the victim of this crime, and to the people of Bulgaria for the profound injustice of this violent scumbag's release.

I hope the world would think twice before trusting the UK to lock up criminals.
Such tribal people. If a Bulgarian does something like that in a foreign country, the last thing I'd want is for him to be freed and brought back.
Keep our violent criminals, please...