Attacks on offices • During a protest, unidentified individuals threw a flare at the doorstep of the office of a well-known human rights NGO, causing damage. Police conducted an investigation into the incident the same night.82 • The office of a human rights NGO was destroyed by a fire that was possibly caused by two unidentified objects that were apparently placed in the ventilation duct.83 • The office of a human rights NGO was picketed by demonstrators who threw eggs and other objects at the office. Police officers were allegedly present but did not intervene.84 • There was an attempt to set fire to the offices of an independent news organization during a mass protest. The police prevented protesters from entering the building.85 • The office of an NGO offering support and legal advice to migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers was spray-painted with swastikas and nationalist slogans.86 • Men in plain clothes broke into the offices of an NGO involved in litigation of sensitive cases and of a human rights movement that were located in the same building. The men, who claimed that the building belonged to them, broke down the iron doors and dismantled the stairs connecting the floors between the two offices.87 Defamation campaigns • A member of a feminist organization was allegedly the target of a media smear campaign against her and her organization.88 • The head of a well-known NGO faced backlash from the media and from a number of politicians after she attended a ceremony proclaiming the independence of a province in her country.89 A number of politicians made hostile statements against her, some openly encouraging acts of violence, which were broadcast in the media. She was threatened in the street a number of times, and a campaign was launched to collect signatures to formally charge her with treason. 82 Case of the Humanitarian Law Centre (Serbia), “Serbia: Protect Civil Society and Minorities Government Should Unequivocally Condemn and Quell Violence”, Human Rights Watch, 27 February 2008. 83 Case of Ramazan Dyryldaev (Kyrgyzstan), Human Rights Council, op. cit., note 34, para. 1271. 84 Case of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (Azerbaijan), Amnesty International, op. cit., note 56, p. 60; information also provided by Human Rights Watch, 15 May 2008. 85 Case of B92 (Serbia), “Serbia: Protect Civil Society and Minorities”, Human Rights Watch, op. cit., note 82; “Serbia: Threats against human rights defenders and organisations in Serbia following independence of Kosovo”, Front Line, 22 February 2008; “Serbia: Stop attacks on human rights activists and on minorities”, Amnesty International, 20 February 2008. 86 Case of Action for Equality, Support and Anti-racism (Cyprus), Amnesty International, op. cit., note 56, p. 108. 87 The case of the Centre of International Protection and of the For Human Rights movement (Russian Federation), “New acts of harassment against Stanislaw Dmitrievsky and two Moscow-based NGOs”, Observatory FIDH/OMCT, 11 April 2008. 88 Case of Sanja Sarnavka of the organization Be Active, Be Emancipated (Croatia). Information provided by Front Line, 3 April 2008. 89 Case of Nataša Kandi (Serbia), “ Serbia: Protect Civil Society and Minorities” , Human Rights Watch, op. cit., note 82; Urgent Appeal, Observatory FIDH/OMCT, 26 February 2008; “ Serbia: Threats against human rights defenders and organisations in Serbia following independence of Kosovo” , Front Line, 22 February 2008; “ Serbia: Stop attacks on human rights activists and on minorities” , Amnesty International, op. cit., note 85. 21