For materialists, ideas, ‘culture’, etc, are derived from, or, at the very least, have a basis in social and economic relations.

We know that relations socials and economic have changed greatly over the couple of decades, and nowhere more so than in those states formerly behind the Iron Curtain. The push toward what Australia’s PM calls ‘neoliberalism’ – namely, the alliance between government and capital against workers – has occurred everywhere, but has arguably been most ruthlessly pursued in many of the ex-communist states.

Maggie Thatcher, one of the leading practitioners of neoliberalism, famously quipped that ‘there is no such thing as society’. Perhaps she is being proven correct, in that societies have teetered on the brink of collapse directly in proportion to what geographer David Harvey calls ‘the commodification of everything’. Harvey argues that ‘the destruction of forms of social solidarity … leaves a gaping hole in the social order’, for which the ‘inevitable response is to reconstruct social solidarities’ leads to a revival of nationalism, fascism, and ‘authoritarian populism’. This blowback is the corollary of universal freedom of enterprise.

It is apropos of economic turmoil and social collapse that I bring you this story from Bulgaria, concerning a 23-year old Sydney man named Jock Palfreeman. The media has given Palfreeman’s situation little coverage, but The Daily Telegraph had this story:

The former The King’s School student was arrested on Friday in Sofia after allegedly fatally stabbing Andrei Monov, 20, the the son of a prominent local psychotherapist, in a street brawl.

Palfreeman – who claimed in court to being employed by the British army – is also accused of attempting to murder Antoan Zahariev, 19, during the same attack.

According to a police statement, Palfreeman admitted stabbing the two Bulgarian men but insisted it was in self-defence.

Palfreeman said that while he had been carrying a knife at the time, he only pulled it out to defend himself and two other friends from a group of football hooligans who were attacking another man.

What separates this case from the many involving Australians who run amok overseas is the suggestion that Palfreeman is facing a kangaroo court. Contra the claims of Bulgarian prosecutors, there is another side to the story:

In December 2007, Jock witnessed the gang attacking two men of Roma ethnicity in Sofia. Jock went to the aid of the Roma men, putting himself in the middle of the attack. The Roma men were able to escape, but the gang continued their vicious attack on Jock. Following the fight, one member of the gang was killed and another injured.

Jock was refused bail, and has been in the infamous Sofia Central Prison for nearly two years awaiting a verdict. He will give his final plea on Wednesday, 2nd December 2009, and can expect a verdict on the 3rd December.

Jock’s trial has been repeatedly delayed due to witnesses, court officials and even members of the judging panel failing to attend scheduled court dates without notice. Three consecutive court dates were aborted after 30 minutes due to missing medical and technical experts.

More importantly, crucial evidence proving Jock’s innocence has been either carelessly or deliberately destroyed. For example, CCTV footage showing the gang’s assault on the Roma men and then on Jock was initially deleted due to police recklessness. When Jock’s defense was able to retrieve it using a computer expert, the entire computer mysteriously exploded destroying the footage, again in police “care”.

The stories of the gang members and other witnesses have been changed repeatedly since the initial statements. The gang members initially confirmed Jock’s version of events, but have since changed their statements to deny even the existence of the Roma men. They claim that Jock, a young Australian in a foreign country, simply attacked a gang of 16 men alone without a motive. Their initial statements have been blocked from court by the prosecutor. Initially, ten Bulgarian Police Officers supported Jock’s version of events. To date, eight of these have changed their stories to fit with the statements of the gang. Throughout the entire case, Jock’s statement has remained exactly the same.

It is impossible for me to verify the claims above. What I do know is that they are plausible. Firstly, Bulgaria, like a number of other ex-communist countries, currently has a major problem with racism, and has seen a rise in violent, proto-fascist activity. Secondly, Bulgarian authorities are widely believed to be corrupt — the EU has questioned ‘the independence and accountability of the judicial system’.

What this case highlights are the very real problems –- corruption, racism, and violence –- that still plague much of the world, particularly where a sleazy version of free enterprise has replaced a creaky version of communism. So far, the Australian media has not been as interested in Palfreeman as some other Australians incarcerated overseas (with occasional exceptions). He lacks the tabloid fascination of Schapelle Corby and her family -– he’ll never get a gig on the front cover of Ralph. Unlike David Hicks, he is not an international symbol of that recent US paradox -– suspending ‘human rights’ and democracy in the name of human rights and democracy. He may yet, however, turn out to be a victim of corruption, and a casualty of neo-fascism, and his story ought to be told. Rising nationalism and justice systems tilted in favour of the wealthy and connected may be more pronounced in Eastern Europe than elsewhere, but they are problems everywhere, including Australia.

Palfreeman’s fate will be determined on December 2nd, next week. More information on this matter can be found hereand here.