Detained Aussie part of a wider story: Dad

The father of an Australian man locked up in Bulgaria says his ongoing detention seems to have taken on a greater political dimension than a single case merits.

"It's very much about the ongoing need for judicial reform in Bulgaria, something the judges are seeking to advance," Simon Palfreeman, father of Jock, told ABC News on Monday.

The younger Palfreeman was granted parole by Bulgarian authorities earlier in September after serving more than 11 years behind bars for a fatal stabbing, but the 32-year-old has not yet been allowed to leave the country.