Bulgaria was in no position to express any kind of stand on the early release of UK citizen Michael Shields, Bulgarian Justice Minister Meglena Tacheva told Bulgarian National Radio on March 9.

In 2006 Bulgaria agreed on letting Shields serve the rest of his 10-year sentence for hitting a Bulgarian bartender with a stone on his head in a UK prison, in accordance to the 1983 Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, article 12.

“This move ended any further obligation Bulgaria could have in regards to Shields, because sending him to the UK meant that the execution of his sentence issued by a Bulgarian court was suspended”, Tacheva said. She met with her UK counterpart Jack Straw who earlier this month asked for more clarity on Shields, whose relatives have been calling for his early release, claiming he was innocent.

“I know that in Liverpool there is a campaign for Shields' early release and they want Bulgaria to pardon him on humanitarian and health grounds but we would not express any position on what the UK wants to do with Shields because Shields is already in the UK,” Tacheva said. It was up to every country, a side to the convention whether to pardon a prisoner.
 
“Straw told me he respected Bulgarian courts and had admiration on the position they had on Shields. He literally said he could not just 'look outside the window' and pardon Shields, disregarding the sentence issued by Bulgarian court, despite the pressure he was a subject to,” Tacheva said.

She noted that Vice-President Angel Marin was no longer the person from Bulgarian side to decide on pardoning Shields, aged 21. “According to the convention such a pardon can be issued once there are new evidence on the case. So far the only new evidence is the lie detector that Shields took in 2007 and his relatives wants us to take into account. I told Straw we are ready to look at any new evidence but not the lie detector simply because  lie detector results are not recognised by Bulgarian Penal Code as evidence at all. Further more lie detector results are not considered as reliable evidences in the UK”.

Tacheva said she did not see on what grounds Shields' relatives wanted Bulgaria to accept them as such. “Straw himself agreed we were right to refuse taking them into account,” Tacheva said. “If they come up with some other new evidence we are ready to resume the case,” Tacheva said. “This is Bulgaria's position”.