NGO Threatens to Sue Bulgaria over Forced Demolition of Homes in Roma District of Garmen

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) has opposed the forced demolition of buildings and homes in the Roma neighborhood of the southwestern Bulgarian village of Garmen.

The human rights NGO cautions that the step leaves four families with nowhere to go, forcing them to sleep out in the open.

The BHC insists in a media statement that the step contradicts international law and will trigger an even bigger and more urgent problem.

The NGO emphasizes that the demolition of the four illegal buildings two days ago was made under public pressure as a form of collective punishment for the supposedly illegal actions of different individuals in Garmen and without taking into account the situation of each of the people living there who are not involved in past incidents.

In their words, the campaign was accompanied by a public racist anti-Roma rhetoric, which was incited, among other things, by media outlets and by the political parties represented in Parliament.

The NGO draws attention to the fact that it warned about similar developments in May.

The BHC reminds that it has repeatedly warned that the demolition of the only homes of poor families, who have been living there for a long time, without providing them with an alternative housing option, breaches the right to respect for their private and family life and the right to a home.

The BHC reminds that the forced evictions of people from their only homes has been condemned as a breach of international law on three occasions in lawsuits related to cases similar to the existing one.

The NGO reminds that Bulgaria lost these lawsuits, with three different international bodies coming up with convictions against Bulgaria, including the European Court of Human Rights, the United...