European Court of Human Rights Asks Bulgarian Capital City to Postpone Destroying Illegal Ghetto

The municipal administration of the Bulgarian capital Sofia has postponed the destruction of the illegal Roma ghetto in the Vuzrazhdane Quarter after it received a letter from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) requesting the demolition be postponed until July 23rd. The demolition was originally scheduled for today, July 11th.

The ECHR sent the letter after the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, a human right NGO headquartered in Sofia, petitioned the Court. The Court also asked for more information about the ghetto and the risk groups of people residing in it.

According to Sofia’s Deputy Mayor, Yuliya Nenkova, since this is the second time the ghetto’s planned destruction has been canceled in two years, the Sofia administration has lost its credibility with the local people living legally in the Vuzrazhdane Quarter who have petitioned for the removal of the illegal ghetto.

Nenkova also said that the decision of the Bulgarian court, which has confirmed the right of the local authorities to demolish the ghetto, had been neglected.

SS