A British football fan jailed for 15 years in Bulgaria for the attempted murder of a barman was pardoned and walked free from jail Wednesday, after serving four years in Britain. Michael Shields, 22, was convicted in Bulgaria of attacking Martin Georgiev, who had a paving slab dropped on his head in the Bulgarian city of Varna following Liverpool's Champions League final victory in Istanbul in May 2005.
His sentence was reduced to 10 years on appeal and he was transferred to a British prison to complete his sentence, but British Justice Secretary Jack Straw on Wednesday ruled he was "morally and technically innocent". Straw said he had made his decision after new evidence of a confession by another man had emerged in a meeting with Shields' parents two weeks ago.
"At this meeting... I was told for the first time about a visit by two members of the Shields family to the home of a man alleged to be responsible for the crime for which Michael Shields was jailed," Straw said. "I was told that in the course of the visit that man made an oral confession to the crime in front of several other people." The visit to the man's home took place on July 22, 2005, a day after the start of Shields' trial in Bulgaria, Straw said.
He added that he would not give details of the confession, but "there is very good reason to believe I was being told the truth." He added: "I have concluded, having looked carefully at all the evidence now available, that Michael Shields is telling the truth when he says he is innocent of the attempted murder of which he was convicted in Bulgaria."
The confession by a British man, Graham Sankey, had been ruled inadmissible at Shields' trial in Bulgaria. British police have now made fresh investigations and passed their findings to the Bulgarian authorities, Straw said, without giving further details.