Sofia's Court of Appeal has confirmed Australian Paul "Jock" Palfreeman's 20 years prison sentence for the brutal murder of 20 year-old Bulgarian Andrei Monov in 2007.

The 24-year-old Australian has 14 days to launch a final appeal at the country's Supreme Court.

In the early hours of December 28, 2007, Palfreeman fatally stabbed the Bulgarian law student in downtown Sofia and injured his 19 year-old friend Antoan Zahariev. On December 02 2009, the Australian national was convicted to twenty years in jail.

The appeal trial against Palfreeman's 20-year jail sentence returned to the Bulgarian court on January 19 2011, the fifth day of his appeal hearing, after his father, a key member of the legal defence team, failed to get to the court on December 22 due to the bad weather at European airports. On January 19, the court said it would be ready with its final verdict within a month.

The Australian has claimed that he intervened only to go to the aid of two Roma gypsies being beaten by the group of boys, part of which Andrei was.

The accusing side, on behalf of Monov and Zahariev's parents, stated before the court in January that the crime committed by the Australian has been violent and with a high level of danger for society, and have therefore demanded the maximum sentence – life without parole. However the court of appeal has now confirmed the original sentence instead.

Monday, February 21 would have been the murdered Andrei Monov's 24th birthday.

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