MICHAEL SHIELDS' hopes of a re-trial and the chance to clear his name were dashed today (Friday) after the Bulgarian court hearing his appeal cut his jail term to 10 years and increased his fine to £71,000.
The Wavertree teenager was initially handed a 15-year prison term in July last year after being found guilty of an attack on Bulgarian waiter Martin Georgiev during a stay in the resort of Varna on the Black Sea coast following a trip to Istanbul in May to see Liverpool win the European Cup.
The teenager, just 18 at the time of the alleged attack in May 2005, has always maintained his innocence but despite witness statements supporting his claim, including one from the porter in the hotel where he was staying, as well as the lack of any forensic evidence linking Shields with the attack, he was convicted on the basis of several Bulgarian witnesses, an identification process that has since been proved to be hugely flawed.
Anfield man Graham Sankey signed a confession admitting to the attack only days after Shields was sent to prison last July but has since, through his solicitor, cast doubt on whether it was that or another incident he participated in and has refused to go to Bulgaria to help Michael's plea for justice.
The Bulgarian appeal judges have agreed that Michael should be allowed to serve the rest of his sentence on British soil and he is expected to be repatriated within a month.
This latest development is the latest setback to Michael's family who have been campaigning tirelessly for his release since his incarceration.
Jeanette Shields, Michael's aunt, said: "We are just trying to take it all in at the moment.
"Michael's father called with the news, we are totally dumbfounded. We don't know what to do next."
