threatening text message saying that, in the future, he would not be able to help his target group. A police investigation was opened.43 Threats • A human rights researcher and a member of the council for the civilian control of police received threats by telephone suggesting that photographs would be published exposing him as a homosexual. He was later told that he would be killed. He was also followed by a car without licence plates and filmed from that car; a subsequent investigation failed to find the alleged perpetrators.44 • The former director of an organization promoting human rights, including LGBT rights, received an e-mail from someone identified only as “Sharp Knife”. The message contained threats of violence and advised the director’s family to prepare his funeral in the coming fortnight as a consequence of his work.45 • A member of an organization supporting LGBT rights received threatening telephone calls, and then graffiti was painted on her house. She received more threatening calls a month later. Then more graffiti appeared near her home with the word “lesbian, her date of birth, and another date presumably intended to indicate the date of her death. She reported this to the police, who took no action to protect her.46 • A far-right website posted the home addresses, phone numbers, and photographs of defenders and journalists working on minority issues, racism, and fascism. Authorities launched an investigation into the case.47 • The spokesperson of a human rights NGO testified at a trial against an extremeright newspaper that had published articles in conjunction with the anti-Semitic book by Kostas Plevris. During the trial, the defender was verbally attacked by the author of the book. And after the trial, a journalist from state television insulted him and tried to hit him. In addition, death threats against the defender were posted on the website of an extreme-right party. When the author was convicted and given a suspended sentence of 14 months, more threatening messages were posted on the website.48 • A gay-rights advocacy group received a number of threats related to its activities through e-mail and Internet forums that included hate speech and expressions of 43 Case of Aleksey Suslikov (Russian Federation), “Choking on bureaucracy: state curbs on independent civil society activism”, Human Rights Watch, February 2008. The government of the Russian Federation noted that a criminal investigation is ongoing. 44 Case of Aleksandar Sasa Zekovic (Montenegro), “Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January-June 2007”, Amnesty International; Human Rights Council, op. cit., note 34, para. 1411, for the government’s response, see para. 1414. 45 Case of the Centre for Social Emancipation in Kosovo. Information provided by Front Line, 3 April 2008. 46 Case of a member of the Gay Straight Alliance (Serbia). Information provided by Front Line, 3 April 2008. 47 Case of Aleksander Verkhovski, Valentina Uzunova, and others (Russian Federation), Urgent Appeal, Observatory FIDH/OMCT, 25 April 2008. The government of the Russian Federation noted that the website was technically outside the jurisdiction of Russian law-enforcement agencies; however, as a result of co-operation with relevant agencies abroad, lists of human rights defenders and journalists were deleted from the website. The process of investigating and identifying those responsible for posting the lists is ongoing. 48 Case of Panayote Dimitras (Greece), “New acts of harassment against the Greek Helsinki Monitor and activists who filed criminal actions against neo-Nazis”, Observatory FIDH/OMCT, 18 January 2008. 14