A man known as K.Z., the director of the Centre for Social Emancipation (QESH) a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights organization in Kosovo received death threats on 24 May 2007 and a police request for protection has been rejected.

K.Z. received an email from an unidentified sender who named himself Sharp Knife. The email warned K.Z. that the sender would f**k your mother, burn you with all your belongings, and make you carry your intestines with your own hands. The sender also advised K.Z.'s family to prepare his funeral for the coming fortnight and added that K.Z. would end up in hell as a consequence of his work for LGBT rights. Upon receiving the threat, K.Z. reported it to the police but was informed by an officer at his local police station that the threat was not sufficiently serious and that K.Z. should instead conduct a private lawsuit.

Front Line is concerned that this latest threat has been issued as a result of K.Z’s peaceful and legitimate work in the protection of human rights. The Centre for Social Emancipation (QESH) was the first, and possibly remains the only organization in Kosovo to promote LGBT rights. Due to fears for the safety of its members, the location of its offices are not disclosed and according to reports, this threat is the sixth death threat received by the organisation in recent months. Despite anti-discrimination legislation passed by the Assembly of Kosovo on 20 August 2004, homosexuality remains a taboo in Kosovan society and human rights defenders promoting LGBT rights are continuously at risk in the course of their work.

The Centre for Social Emancipation (QESH) was founded in April 2005. Its initial mission was to develop an Albanian language website to provide a source of impartial information for the LGBT community in relation to legal and social issues as well as offering an educative forum within which members could share their experiences and forge networks of mutual support with other members.

Front Line urges the authorities in Kosovo to initiate an immediate and exhaustive investigation into this death threat with a view to identifying those parties responsible.

(29 May 2007)