The Independent newspaper said yesterday that UK tabloid The Sun was exploiting the Michael Shields case to boost its circulation. The Sun has launched a campaign for the immediate release of Shields from prison in Bulgaria. The newspaper printed a 'Free Michael Shields' form to be filled out by readers and sent to Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov. The Sun collected 5000 letters. The Independent said that The Sun was giving the Shields case extensive coverage because Shields is from Liverpool and the tabloid held that its circulation in the northern English city was too low. The Independent is the third British newspaper, after The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, that has addressed the issue in a different light, without criticising the Bulgarian judicial system Novinar reports.
Shields' lawyers will today lodge an appeal against his conviction and 15-year jail sentence, as the deadline for filing an appeal ends. Shields was convicted of the attempted murder of Bulgarian bartender Martin Georgiev in the Black Sea resort Golden Sands.