Jock Palfreeman says the unprecedented decision by Bulgaria's prosecutor-general to contest his parole has transformed him from "scum of the earth" to a national folk hero who symbolises the fight against corruption.
The 32-year-old Australian is in limbo for two months as the Supreme Court of Cassation examines an appeal court's decision to grant Palfreeman parole.
He could end up back in prison where he's already spent 11 years for stabbing a Bulgarian law student in December 2007.
"If I had got parole, was deported and came back to Australia, I would have left the same way I was for 12 years - scum of the earth, public enemy number one," Mr Palfreeman told AAP.
The 32-year-old Australian is in limbo for two months as the Supreme Court of Cassation examines an appeal court's decision to grant Palfreeman parole. Source: AAP
"But now, me and my case have been turned into a symbol for fighting corruption and the abuse of power.
"I've gone from one of the most hated people in Bulgaria to some type of folk hero."
Palfreeman says he's recognised on the street with strangers coming up "to congratulate me, shake my hand and want to take photos with me".
Prominent civil rights lawyer Nikolay Hadjigenov told AAP: "This is a fight not only for Jock but also for Bulgarian justice."
Legal experts argue the decision to release Palfreeman was correct but the move has angered nationalist politicians.
Palfreeman has always maintained he acted in self-defence after he came to the aid of two gypsies he said were being assaulted by Andrei Monov - the son of a then-prominent politician - and his friends.
Palfreeman says the prosecutor-general's push to have his case reopened has backfired with public opinion turned on its head.
The shift means Palfreeman is more vigilant about his image.
"Things have actually become more stressful," he said.
"I feel responsible for the many people who are using my case as inspiration for their own battles against corruption and abuse of power."
As he waits for the court's ruling, Palfreeman is searching for an office building to rent in Sofia to house the Bulgarian Prisoners' Rehabilitation Association he established in 2012.
The association, made up of prisoners and ex-prisoners, is the first of its kind in the country.
"Prisoners in Bulgaria are completely alone, like an astronaut in space cut off from the earth," Palfreeman told AAP.
The association's main goal is to reduce the "massive" difference between prisoners' rights in Bulgaria and those in other European Union member states.
"When everybody's rights are defended, the guards and the prison administration will be careful, because they will know if they beat up or torture someone, one of them might call the prisoners' association and the lawyer will come and turn their life upside down," Palfreeman said.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne last week demanded Palfreeman be allowed to return home.
The Sydney man says the federal government had been "fantastic" over the past month but was inactive throughout the preceding decade.
"During my trial and my time in prison, the Australian state did nothing for me," he told AAP.
"As far as Australia was concerned, I was guilty as charged. No one cared about me. They basically just checked I was alive."
