An Australian man who was granted parole last week after serving 11 years behind bars for murder in Bulgaria says he hasn't been allowed to leave the country despite having a passport for days.
Jock Palfreeman, 32, had been serving a 20-year sentence for fatally stabbing Bulgarian law student Andrei Monov, 23, during a brawl in the capital Sofia in 2007.
A three-judge Court of Appeals panel unexpectedly ordered him freed last week and he was transferred to an immigration detention facility to await a new passport from the nearest Australian embassy, which is in Athens.
His freedom hit a hurdle on Tuesday, with Bulgaria's chief prosecutor, Sotir Tsatsarov, asking the country's highest court to revoke his parole amid community outrage.
Paul "Jock" Palfreeman arriving to court in 2010. Source: AAP
But Mr Palfreeman has told the ABC that's not his only issue.
He says Australian consular officials have told him the Bulgarian immigration department director Nikolay Nikolov on Wednesday refused to speak with them about his case.
"The Bulgarian authorities responsible for keeping me in prison ... have blanked the Australian embassy staff. That was yesterday. I don't know what the situation is today," he told the ABC on Thursday.
Mr Palfreeman said a passport for him is already available, but it hasn't been enough to secure his freedom.
"The embassy staff made me a new passport on Friday and brought it on Monday and an official copy was given to the immigration staff on Monday," he said.
"The media [in Bulgaria] is being lied to [when they're being told by politicians] that as soon as I get a passport I'm allowed to leave. That's not true."
Back in Australia, the 32-year-old's father Simon and stepmother Helen say it is "devastating" that their hopes of his homecoming may be dashed.
"It was pretty devastating to think that he was almost back and then suddenly there's this other development where they're trying to block him coming home," Simon Palfreeman told ABC's 7.30 on Thursday.
Helen Palfreeman said the glimmer of hope has reminded her of some of the worst days of coming to terms with Jock's imprisonment.
"It's the bad old days again, and only worse because we did have that moment of hope.
"It's really a terrible feeling to think that, you know, he was almost on that plane. Now it's looking increasingly grim."
Simon has called upon the federal government to do more on Jock's behalf, encouraging Prime Minister Scott Morrison to reach out directly to his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov.
"I really would like the Australian government to be a bit more public in their support of Jock," he said.
Mr Palfreeman's lawyer, Kalin Angelov, has called the appeal of his parole "absurd" and advised Australian authorities to speed up his passport and put Mr Palfreeman on a plane home.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has said it is continuing to provide consular assistance to Mr Palfreeman and his family.
Mr Palfreeman has consistently maintained he acted in self-defence that night after intervening to prevent Mr Monov and a group of friends from attacking two Roma men, also known as Gypsies.
