Citizens will show their support for Roma families from "Zaharna Fabrika" tonight

Citizens will tonight show their solidarity with the Roma families from the Zaharna Fabrika neighbourhood in Sofia who were left homeless after their homes were demolished on April 15. At 19:00, they will gather at the site of the demolished houses and sleep there to show their sympathy for the more than 200 victims.

In a letter to the media, the activists say that the people have lost their homes because of the arbitrariness of the mayor of Sofia's Ilinden district, to which Zaharna Fabrika belongs.

Emil Branchevski ordered the demolition of the illegal buildings, despite a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights prohibiting demolition before the residents were given alternative accommodation. He did so just days before the Easter holidays.

• Demolition of illegal Roma settlement underway in Sofia

Although the municipality announced that people would be temporarily housed in crisis centres, some remained in tents by the rubble.

The homeless and their supporters fear they could be evicted tomorrow by a private security company.

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee called on the Bulgarian institutions to find a solution for the people left homeless and to prevent a humanitarian crisis Zaharna Fabrika.