http://www.freemichaelshields.org/ Everything we do, contributes in a positive manner against this injustice !
Please consider helping in any way you can .... http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N156255070701-0854.htm To support the campaign for the UK Government's intervention into Michael Shields' case, click here>>
Lets hope he will soon be free Also spare a taught for Steve Cook When I was in Greece one of the first things I saw in the airport was a missing poster for this lad a red that went missing in Crete its been 2 years a go http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=84657.0
Michael Shields: I should be enjoying my 21st instead of being stuck in here Sep 21 2007 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo JAILED Liverpool fan Michael Shields today spoke of how he should be celebrating his landmark 21st birthday with the people he loves. Instead, the engineering student was spending today alone in his cell at Hindley jail near Wigan with only an evening family visit to look forward to. Michael, who has recently had 10 months taken off his sentence for good behaviour, is due for release in 2010. He was convicted in Bulgaria of injuring a barman in 2005, but a campaign grew which insisted he is innocent. Speaking from jail last night, he said: “My 21st will be like the last two Christmas days I’ve been in jail. I just want to get them out of the way so I’m a day nearer to getting out. “It will just be another 24 hours when I’m in here and the world carries on. “I should be celebrating with my family and friends instead of stuck in here.†Michael’s sisters Laura and Melissa were due to visit him tonight with his niece Kelsy and nephew Philip. His parents Michael Snr and Marie will see him tomorrow. They are restricted in what gifts they can take. Instead they will deliver scores of cards well-wishers have posted to their home in Edge Hill along with two from Liverpool stars Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard. Inside his card Carragher has written “To Michael, Happy 21st mate. Keep going – you are not forgottenâ€. Michael’s father said: “Marie and I feel heartbroken Michael isn’t with us for his big day. “It’s horrible to think it will just be a routine day. You only turn 21 once and my son is doing it as an innocent person behind bars. “When he was 18 he didn’t want a party, but he always said he’d have a 21st with his mate Paul Kelly who shares his birthday. “Paul isn’t going to have a party now because he’s too sad. He’s going to wait until Michael gets out.†A petition on the prime minister’s website calling for Michael to be freed is already one of the most strongly supported in the country, having amassed more than 15,000 signatures. But Cllr Joe Anderson, leading the fight to see Michael released, has his sights firmly set on the 100,000 mark. He said: “I’d like to urge everyone who has supported Michael so loyally so far to go online and sign the petition. We won’t give in.†Meanwhile Michael’s lawyer and Euro MEP Arlene McCarthy are to travel to Bulgaria to meet the chief prosecutor. Talks have already been set up between Michael’s legal team and Bulgarian MEPs. Michael was jailed for the attack in Bulgaria where he was staying after watching Liverpool beat AC Milan in the European Cup two years ago. Negotiations between the British and Bulgarian governments led to him being transferred to an English prison. To see the petition visit www.michaelshieldspetition.co.uk/ grego’keeffe@liverpoolecho.co.uk
MICHAEL Shields will be freed from jail on May 30, 2010. The provisional release date, conditional on good behaviour, has been set by law and order minister David Hanson after a legal wrangle. It is 10 months sooner than the tariff set by the Home Office under rules which did not fully take account of the time he spent in Bulgarian custody before he was convicted of a savage assault on a barman. But the Whitehall interpretation of those rules was challenged by the Shields family's legal team. The Home Office has now agreed he should be released after serving half of his reduced 10-year sentence, including pre-trial custody. Riverside Labour MP Louise Ellman said: "It has been a struggle, but the government has seen sense. This is a victory, but the long fight to secure justice for this innocent young man will continue. "He and his family have suffered enough for a crime which he did not commit." She will press Mr Hanson for government support for Michael's miscarriage of justice case at a Whitehall meeting when Parliament resumes business next month. The Bulgarian authorities have not yet responded to an appeal for a full pardon on humanitarian grounds. Michael is currently in Hindley young offenders prison near Wigan. http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk...hields-to-be-released-in-2010-64375-19844888/
Seen this on rawk There's a critical meeting taking place with Bulgarians soon with a view to either a pardon or re-opening the case in light of new evidence, and Michael's family are, obviously, keen to have as much ammunition as possible when presenting their case. So if you haven't already signed the petition please do so now. Forward the link to as many people as possible via email. Please click the link below and help clear his name. http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/MichaelCShields The petition reads: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to recognise the deep concerns people have about the safety of the conviction of Michael Shields for a crime committed in Bulgaria. We call on the Prime Minister and his Government to do all they can to assist in persuading the Bulgarian Government to re-open the case and for them to look at new and existing evidence. Further the Prime Minister is called upon to ask the Bulgarian Authorities through Interpol to ask for further investigations to be carried out by Merseyside Police by interviewing those who have provided new and additional information supporting Michael Shields claim to be innocent of the assault on Bulgarian Waiter Martin Georgiev. Michael Shields was convicted of a crime he claims he did not commit. Evidence was not allowed to be heard in the Bulgarian Court which included evidence from people who confirmed that Michael was indeed in his bed. Other evidence was not allowed during an appeal because it was deemed to be too late,because it was not heard in the original trial. This evidence and that of new witnesses needs to be taken into account. Michael Shields is now in a UK Prison and has served nearly two years in May 2007 for a crime someone else has owned up to. This Government should do all it possibly can to persuade the Bulgarians to re-open this case and examine thoroughly all the evidence that exists. Thanks folks. You need to be a resident of the uk to sign it so please send the link to everyone you know with uk addreses !
EXCLUSIVE by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo THE BULGARIAN government today hinted it would not object if the UK decided to pardon Michael Shields and set him free. President Georgi Parvanov made the admission in a letter to campaigners fighting for the release of the jailed 21-year-old. It could prompt the British government to consider a pardon on the basis that student Michael, from Edge Hill, suffered a miscarriage of justice in Bulgaria when he was convicted of attempted murder. City Labour leader Joe Anderson, who received the letter, hailed it as a major breakthrough in his campaign to win Liverpool fan Michael’s freedom. Story continues ADVERTISEMENT Now Cllr Anderson hopes a dossier of new evidence which proves Michael’s innocence will finally be considered by the Foreign Office. He said: “We hear what the Bulgarians are saying and that our country can commute or pardon the sentence. “There is new evidence that Michael has been wrongly convicted of a crime he did not commit. “The government has to accept that if this was a case tried under British law Michael would have been released by now. “And it could be argued he never would have been convicted. “Our government must do the honourable thing and pardon Michael.†The letter on behalf of President Parvanov, signed by his top legal advisor Saho Penov, emphasises the UK and Bulgaria are both signatories of the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. It says: “Michael Shields’ problems might also be solved by the competent authorities in the United Kingdom. “We have in mind the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (article 12) which stipulates each party to this convention may grant pardon, amnesty or commutation of the sentence in accordance with its constitution or other laws. ‘The practices and legislation in the UK are familiar with the mechanisms for conditional discharge of sentenced persons, including their release on humanitarian grounds.†Euro MP Arlene McCarthy, who is also campaigning for Michael’s freedom, is set to meet with President Parvanov for further talks in the next few weeks. She said: “It has been our objective to seek the pardon of Michael and I don’t mind who does it – whether it’s the Bulgarians or the British government.†A spokesman for the Foreign Office today said all legal representations would be considered. In September Michael was moved to an adult prison for the first time in the UK. Michael was arrested in Bulgaria as he returned from Liverpool's champions league victory in Istanbul. The Bulgarian courts refused to accept alibi evidence and a confession, later retracted, by fellow Reds fan Graham Sankey.
At last, perhaps Michael will finally get to go home ... poor bloke, a very sad story and something which should remind us all when we go to away CL matches etc, be very careful as the Irish Government has no more power than the English one !
A bit off topic but read this the other day http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/live...ankey-jailed-for-five-months-100252-20746759/ Sankey jailed
That guy is something else ... First he admits the hastle in Bulgaria, then he retracts it and says he was not involved, then this ....
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N160029080523-1102.htm goin to try and have a Listen to this tomorrow. you can Listen to City Live here... www.whatson.com/radiocity
Lawyers for a Liverpool supporter jailed for the attempted murder of a Bulgarian barman three years ago will launch a new bid today to secure his release. Michael Shields, now 21, was returning home after Liverpool's defeat of AC Milan in the European Cup final in Istanbul in May 2005. He and his friends stopped over in the Bulgarian resort of Varna. After an incident in the town centre in which the barman was attacked, allegedly by Liverpool fans, Shields was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison, a sentence which was later reduced to 10 years. Subsequently he was transferred to a prison in Britain. Shields has claimed throughout that he was in bed in his hotel when the barman was attacked, suffering severe head injuries. Since then, another Liverpool man admitted he was responsible for the attack, but later withdrew that "confession". Shields is now serving his sentence at Haverigg prison in the Lake District. His supporters, who have mounted a huge campaign on his behalf, are convinced he was wrongly convicted. A few months ago Justice Secretary Jack Straw told Shields's supporters he had no jurisdiction to consider either a pardon or an early release for him, saying that that was the responsibility of the Bulgarian authorities. Today, lawyers will lodge with the courts an application for a judicial review, challenging Mr Straw's ruling regarding "the power to grant a pardon to repatriated prisoners wrongly convicted in a foreign jurisdiction". His MP, Louise Ellman (Labour, Liverpool Riverside), said: "This application for a judicial review is a vital step in securing justice for Michael Shields. It is important that there is legal clarity about who decides his future." Mrs Ellman added: "I shall continue to fight for this young man until justice has been done." If the application is successful, it does not mean necessarily that Mr Straw will order his release but it would mean that the power to do so would be his.
Benefit night in support of Michael Shields Spirit Of Shankly, the Liverpool Supporters' Union, is hosting a benefit night in support of wrongly jailed Liverpool fan, Michael Shields. Michael is member number 1 in the Union, and we are glad to be able to offer any support we can to Michael and his family in their ongoing legal fight to have him freed. Much of the money that has previously been raised for Michael has been spent, and with the fight to have him freed continuing, the benefit night and a bucket collection at the forthcoming home game against Stoke will raise much needed funds for this campaign. The benefit night will take place on Friday 19th September, the weekend of Michael's 22nd birthday, at The Devonshire Hotel on Edge Lane. Tickets are available for the evening priced at £12, from the Hillsborough Justice Campaign Shop or by emailing admin@spiritofshankly.com. Tickets are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Brian Reade, Mirror columnist and Liverpool fan will compere the evening, with entertainment from musician Neville Skelly, and comedians John Bishop and Mark Langley. Michael Starke, better known as Sinbad in Brookside, will also be providing entertainment on the evening. There will be a raffle, with signed Liverpool memorabilia and other prizes to be won. We look forward to seeing you on the evening, and helping support Michael's cause. Spirit Of Shankly
Seen this in the mirror, good article for anyone not sure of the facts ! Britain loves nothing better than proving its legal system is the best in the world, especially when a foreign national is involved. It’s why a £2million inquest has just opened into the death of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes who was killed by London police in July 2005. Which is fine by me. But why can’t we devote the same resources to finding justice for our own? Four days after de Menezes was killed, Michael Shields was the victim of an equally tragic case of mistaken identity, and was sentenced to 15 years jail for attacking a Bulgarian waiter. Despite legal experts, MPs, clergymen, journalists and ex-detectives saying the conviction is appallingly flawed, new witnesses coming forward to swear he was in bed at the time and Bulgaria repatriating him and saying we’re free to pardon him, Shields remains behind bars. These are the facts. A few nights after Liverpool’s Champions League win in Istanbul a waiter was attacked in Varna and police went to a nearby hotel to arrest the culprit. He wasn’t there, so they tried the adjacent room where 18-year-old Shields was sleeping. They made him put on a white T-shirt (same colour as the attacker’s) and drove him to the crime scene where witnesses viewed him. At the police station he was handcuffed to a radiator for 16 hours, while witnesses walked past to an ID parade. A parade made up of Shields and three swarthy Bulgarians. There was no DNA or forensic proof, four witnesses swore he was asleep, the hotel concierge said he saw Shields go to his room, and another man, Graham Sankey, signed a confession (which his solicitors made him retract). ITV’s Tonight show employed a retired senior UK detective to re-examine the case who said he was “appalled†at the conviction. Fair Trials Abroad called it a blatant miscarriage of justice. Advertisement - article continues below » Shields has sailed through a lie-detector test, Bulgaria has told the Foreign Office his release is a matter for the British and its president has hinted he would be happy if he was pardoned. Because his trial was an embarrassment to a legal system which was already labelled one of the worst on earth. Yet 40 months after Shields was dragged from his bed and locked up for simply being, like de Menezes in the wrong place at the wrong time, British justice hesitates. Justice Minister Jack Straw (despite telling the family there is powerful evidence to support Michael’s innocence) says he can’t do anything until Bulgaria puts it in writing that he is innocent. He worries what the rest of the world will think if our justice system doesn’t play by the book. Which is why, as the de Menezes family get yet another inquiry, the Shields have to seek a Judicial Review to grant a pardon on the grounds that both countries “have the power to pardon a repatriated prisoner under their lawsâ€. Would Shields still be in jail in France or Italy? Or would they have released him and awaited any consequences? The latter, of course. But this is Britain, where it’s more important to show the world that we do everything by the book. Especially for others. By all means let’s give the de Menezes family justice. But isn’t it equally important to ensure we get justice for a British citizen like Shields who has been criminally abused by foreign courts?