Bulgarian prosecutors have demanded a life sentence for Australian man Paul "Jock" Palfreeman, who is appealing his conviction for stabbing a student to death.
Palfreeman was sentenced to 20 years in jail in December 2009 for fatally stabbing one man and wounding another during a street brawl in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.
Palfreeman, 24, has appealed the verdict, claiming he acted in self-defence after intervening to prevent an attack on a group of Roma. The court will announce its final verdict within a month.
In his final plea on Wednesday, the Australian insisted he stabbed Andrei Monov in self-defence after the Bulgarian student and his friends attacked him.
The defendant said that on the night of the incident he tried to defend two Roma who were attacked by Monov and his group of about 15 friends. He argued he was defending his own life as well, adding that the charges against him were based "on intrigue and hearsay and not on arguments."
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Before the hearing, a human rights activist observing the trial also criticised some court proceedings.
"Our worries are about the unfair trial due to the lack of appropriate evidence uncovered by the investigation, due to inadequate assessment of the court of this evidence, and due to the unjust sentence," Krasimir Kanev, head of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, told APTN.
During final arguments, the prosecution claimed that Palfreeman had killed the victim deliberately and demanded a life sentence.
The court heard also the victim's father, Hristo Monov, who claimed the judges would become accomplices to a future murder if they reduced the Australian's sentence when they released their final verdict.
He said that, instead of having his sentence reduced, Palfreeman should have his penalty increased to life without parole for stabbing his son.
Palfreeman has been in custody since the December 2007 attack.
