Appeal defeat for British drivers jailed in Bulgaria
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• Two north London drivers serving seven-and-a-half years in a Bulgarian jail for drug smuggling have lost their appeal.
In a hearing that lasted less than two hours, the Bulgarian lawyers of driver John Mills and Peter Hobbs presented new evidence that they believed gave grounds for a retrial.
The two men have been in prison since June 1995 after 20,5kg of heroin was found in their trailer: they will now have to wait for some months while appeals are pursued before Bulgaria's Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights The campaign group Fair Trials Abroad and the men's families have criticised the speed with which the appeal was rejected, saying the decision had been pre-determined.
John Mills' girlfriend, Dorothy Lawrence. says: "We are absolutely shocked—I can't believe they've done this. We're going to keep fighting until justice is served."