Some European officials use virus as a cover to target Roma

Azime Ali Topchu, 48, a Bulgarian Roma woman, gestures during an interview with the Associated Press in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. Topchu said that the police-enforced lockdown of her village in Burgas, on Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast, made her family "really sad." (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Shoes are placed on a pile of bricks to dry in the yard of the Topchu family house in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Azime Ali Topchu, 48, a Bulgarian Roma woman, pauses during an interview with the Associated Press in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. Topchu said that the police-enforced lockdown of her village in Burgas, on Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast, made her family "really sad." (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Two young children, nephews of Azime Ali Topchu, 48, playfully pose for a photograph behind a curtain in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A cat rests on the gate of a house in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. In Bulgaria, Roma communities were sprayed with disinfectant from crop dusters this spring as coronavirus cases surged in the country. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Ladybirds are painted on the wall of a kindergarten in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. In Bulgaria, Roma communities were sprayed with disinfectant from crop dusters this spring as coronavirus cases surged in the country. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Krassimir Brumbarov, a Roma health worker, gestures during an interview with the Associated Press in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. Brumbarov, a Roma health worker in Burgas, where thermal drones were used, noted that people were also angered by the nearly constant police presence in the village. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Azime Ali Topchu, 48, a Bulgarian Roma woman, stands in her back yard in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. Topchu said that the police-enforced lockdown of her village in Burgas, on Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast, made her family "really sad." (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Bulgarian Roma children of the Topchu family walk in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Azime Ali Topchu, 48, a Bulgarian Roma woman, holds one of her nephews in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. Topchu said that the police-enforced lockdown of her village in Burgas, on Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast, made her family "really sad." (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A pillow hangs on a fence to dry in the yard of the Topchu family house in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Azime Ali Topchu, 48, a Bulgarian Roma woman, pauses during an interview with the Associated Press in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Azime Ali Topchu, 48, a Bulgarian Roma woman, walks with one of her nephews in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. Topchu said that the police-enforced lockdown of her village in Burgas, on Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast, made her family "really sad." (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A toy car is placed on fire wood stored in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. In Bulgaria, Roma communities were sprayed with disinfectant from crop dusters this spring as coronavirus cases surged in the country.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A kitten is startled in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

An empty birdcage hangs on a wall of the Topchu family house in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

The youngest nephew of Azime Ali Topchu, 48, a Bulgarian Roma woman, peers from behind a curtain in a village on the outskirts of Burgas, Bulgaria, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Human rights activists and experts say local officials in several countries with significant Roma populations have used the pandemic to unlawfully target the minority group, which is Europe's largest and has faced centuries of severe discrimination. In Bulgaria, Roma communities were sprayed with disinfectant from crop dusters this spring as coronavirus cases surged in the country. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)