Today a Bulgarian court is expected to pronounce the verdict in the case of 19 year-old British citizen Michael Shields. Shields was held in Varna in connection with charges of attempted murder and hooliganism in the Black Sea resort of Golden Sands. In the incident, a bartender was seriously assaulted and is undergoing a series of operations. The trial caused a Liverpool businessman to cancel all of his deals in Bulgaria. Most foreign media are covering the case objectively but there are also opinions that Shields and his companion, Anthony Wilson, are innocent and the trial is unfair.
A witness working in the hotel where Shields and Wilson stayed said that both men were drunk and damaged hotel property. The court could sentence Shields to 20 years in prison or give him a life sentence. Wilson is accused of hooliganism and the possession of hashish. He could face 15 years' imprisonment and a fine of between 100 000 and 200 000 leva. Shields and Wilson have no previous criminal records. They stayed in the resort together with a group of football fans who visited the match between Liverpool and Milan in Istanbul in May. The bartender allegedly attacked by Shields is alive only because of urgent brain surgery, according to experts. (Dnevnik) 

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