A LONG-SERVING former public prosecutor says the story of a young Sydney man jailed for murder in eastern Europe shows the havoc Australian media can wreak on tourists who get into legal trouble abroad.
Nicholas Cowdery on Sunday told a packed bookshop that the case of Jock Palfreeman, found guilty in December 2009 of the murder of Bulgarian Andrei Monov, raised "very serious concerns" about that country's criminal justice system.
Mr Cowdery, who was NSW Director of Public Prosecutions from 1994 to 2011, was launching a book by ABC journalist Belinda Hawkins about the young man and his father's attempts to secure justice for him.
The 25-year-old claims he pulled a knife in self-defence after going to the aid of a Roma boy who was being attacked by Mr Monov and others.
Hawkins' book, Every Parent's Nightmare, contends vital CCTV evidence was kept out of court and crucial witnesses never called.
"In systems like Bulgaria's, everything seems to happen piecemeal and over a long period of time," Mr Cowdery said.
"You wonder what kind of picture can possibly build in the mind of the judge, who is the decider of the facts in their system as well as the law."
He lashed out at journalists, saying a "ham-fisted" report in News Ltd tabloid the Daily Telegraph, which included claims Palfreeman had been involved years earlier in a stabbing in northern Sydney, had been read as fact by the Bulgarian trial judge in the young man's case.
Mr Cowdery said it was a chilling reminder to parents that many countries, including Indonesia, where thousands of young school-leavers flock each year, had different standards from those of Australian courts.
"There's a warning there," he said.
"We have to be careful about how we report matters. We have to be careful about where those reports go.
"We have to understand that not all systems are like ours, and we have to understand that when our kids and grandkids go travelling in foreign countries that are not familiar, there are all sorts of dangers that perhaps unwittingly can be contributed to by them in their own conduct, and it can lead to the appalling consequences that Jock Palfreeman and the Palfreeman family have now experienced."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Media slammed over Bulgaria murder case
Dengan url
https://ceritaperdanaku.blogspot.com/2013/03/media-slammed-over-bulgaria-murder-case.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Media slammed over Bulgaria murder case
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Media slammed over Bulgaria murder case
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar