The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ordered interim measures by the Bulgarian government for 16 Roma from the Voivodinovo village of Plovdiv, most of them children. They were driven out of their homes after the Packetovi brothers slaughtered serviceman Valentin Dimov on January 6 this year. The 16 are part of a total of 55 Voivodinovo residents, complainants in the Packetov case and others against Bulgaria, BNR reports.
The Court ordered the Bulgarian Government to take the necessary alternative accommodation for the applicants, ensuring that children were not exposed to conditions that were inhuman and degrading.
The cabinet has to take measures to consider their applications for municipal housing, which were submitted in mid-February to the mayor of the municipality of Maritza, but no response was received, although their request was also addressed by the Plovdiv regional governor and the Minister of Labor and social policy. The court requires that the action taken is promptly informed.
With respect to the other 39 applicants, the European Court does not specify any provisional measures but gives priority to the complaint, which means that it will soon be communicated to the Bulgarian Government. The applicants in the case have received legal assistance from the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee.
