Free Michael Shields

Guys,
I'm glad to see that most of you don't just swallow everything Michael Shields' cronies are telling.
See what the Bulgarian sources say on the subject:
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http://lex.gbg.bg/news.php?lang=bg&id=4539

On 23 May [2005] a crowd of English Liverpool [football] fans pour out onto the [Bulgarian city of] Varna airfield (...) their destination being the finals (...) in Istanbul (...) on 25 May.

Just a few hours after they put down their luggage [at a hotel], it becomes clear to everybody around that they're not peaceful tourists, but a horde of vandals. Who behave as if they are not guests at a normal resort, but members of some occupying force that have captured their enemy's capital city after a 6-month siege and daily round-the-clock bloody battles.

From the indictment against Michael Shields, Anthony Wilson and Bradley Thompson:

"Even as they came, almost all [British fans] were visibly alcohol-affected. Throughout their stay at the hotel, they were consuming alcohol, yelling loudly, disturbing the peace of other guests, who made many complaints; a lot of hotel room doors were damaged, mattresses and sheets on some beds were in holes and cut up with knives. Members of the group even thought nothing of urinating in corridors and in the hotel's entrance hall. According to witnesses (...) they were uncontrollable and did not comform to any comments addressed to them..."

(...) t is still unknown why the rampaging Englishmen were not arrested, tried for hooliganism and loaded onto the first [England]-bound plane as early as 24 May.

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The real hell, however, starts after Liverpool's (...) victory (...).

As early as dawn 26 May the British fans again "debark" at Golden Sands and celebrate their favourite team's formidable success with a 4-day partying "spreading" out to include the entire resort.

(...) [T]he British fans' behaviour becomes even more arrogant and brutal. All day long they "promenade" in big gangs around the resort - drunk up to their eye-balls - singing football songs, yelling their club slogans and foul-mouthing anyone they meet.

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On 30 May at dawn they overdo it entirely, however, and the resulting dramatic events are thus described in the indictment:

"...at about 5.00-5.30 a.m., witnesses D.D., R.B., A.D. (...), V.A and M.D. (...) were near the Bonkers disco and the (...) Big Ben fast-food shop. They witnessed a group of English tourists coming from the Shipka hotel way, who were noisy and yelling slogans in favour of Liverpool [football] club. According to the witnesses, the group numbered 10 and were extremely noisy. As they walked, apart from yelling and hitting each other, they took bottles from tables and shop-windows along the way and tossed them at each other. At the same time, they were aggressive to people that chanced in their way: they kicked them, spat on them and sprayed them with beer, - as well as knocking down litter bins they were coming past. Defendants Michael Shields, Anthony Wilson and Bradley Thompson (...) stood out as exceptionally aggressive among the group."

At first, drunken Anthony Wilson enters Big Ben and sits down (...). A few minutes later (...) he starts taunting 4 early-risen English tourists - 2 men and 2 women. A no-less-drunk Bradley Thompson comes in too, sits down next to Wilson and both, with renewed force, start bullying their own compatriots. After they get tired of swearing and making indecent hand and finger gestures, Wilson and Thompson leave and... start hurling broken bottles at the cafe's windows. At this precise moment, Martin Georgiev comes out to see what's going on. According to the indictment, he:

"...only managed to say "What's going on?", as defendants Wilson and Thompson knocked him down onto the ground and went on hitting and kicking him... At this moment, they were joined by defendant Michael Shields, who was holding an irregular-shape stone in his hands, with conspicuously sharp edges, about 25-27 cm [10-11 in.] large and weighing about 3.7 kg [over 8 pounds]. While approaching, he yelled loudly and had a beast-like appearance of one mad with fury. Having stopped over prostrate Georgiev, defendant Shields raised the stone with his hands up to head level and, with all his might, crashed it on the victim's head. The impact was so strong that the stone ricocheted off witness Georgiev's head and fell onto the ground next to the cafe's stairs. Having seen that, [female] witness Krumova started screaming with horror...".

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http://www.netinfo.bg/index.phtml?tid=40&oid=760862

This was seen by witnesses Krumova, Yordanov, Dachev, Artyunyan, Bonzukov, Dyankov, Donchev, Katranjiev, Serzho Todorov.

After the stone-attack, the three Englishmen stayed near their victim and tried to resume kicking him. Another employee (...) who was cleaning up the premises at the time came out to his fallen mate's help with a broom, to fight back the attackers. The three retreated towards Vladislav hotel, stopped, then ran away, continuing to smash bottles as they ran, and even knocked down an outside board-sign advertising a nearby shop.

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[Mr.]Skatskov and [Ms.]Krumova lifted the fallen man off the ground and sat him on a bench in the cafe. The victim was not responding to questions addressed to him, was unconscious, while his head was bleeding profusely.

[Mr.] Skatskov went to try and find a doctor, as medical crews on the (...) premises were immediately informed and first aid was given to the victim on the spot. He was later driven to the (...) "Sv.Anna" (St Anne) hospital in Varna, where he was received into neurosurgery with diagnosed "brain contusion, broken skull, right epidural haematoma". A medical operation was urgently needed (...).

This injury posed a real threat to the victim's life, and without adequately conducted surgical treatment, the outcome would have been lethal, is the experts' categorical opinion.

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http://lex.gbg.bg/news.php?lang=bg&id=4539

After an hours-long struggle, surgeons in the (...) hospital succeed in saving Martin Georgiev's life, even though about 5 or 6 sq cm are absent from his skull, while (...) the surgical operation has revealed a "100-sq.cm [16 sq in] acute haematoma above the hard brain membrane (cortex?), as well as a torn Meningea media artery, accompanied by haemorrhaging."
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Myself, I don't see any reason not to believe the Bulgarians' version of events.

sounds guilty to me

that site is just a bunch of loud mouth scousers trying to subvert justice, all because he was tried in a foreign country