Two years ago, I was asked to speak at the opening of the first Baltic Pride Parade in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was a chilling experience. When I arrived in that European Union member state, the organisers greeted me with disappointment. A court had issued an order banning the parade, which was to be a proud celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Members of parliament had also written an open letter claiming that a Pride Parade would be harmful to children and an affront to Lithuania's moral standards. Fortunately, the Vilnius appeals court decided otherwise - upholding the supremacy of the rights to freedom of assembly and expression over prejudice.

We are writing to express our profound concern about the possible eviction of Roma inhabitants in the Batalova Vodenitsa neighborhood of Sofia. We have learned from a colleague organization that approximately 180 inhabitants from this area risk imminent eviction, and the demolition of their homes. We understand that eviction orders issued by your office in 2005 were upheld by the Supreme Administrative Court in 2006.

We are writing today to ask for your support on behalf of Annadurdy Khajiev, a Turkmen refugee who was granted humanitarian status in Bulgaria in 2004 and who is currently at risk of extradition to Turkmenistan. We strongly believe that this case needs your urgent attention and intervention and that because of Germany’s presidency of the European Union you are well-positioned to raise this case with the Bulgarian government.