What if he's an agent of a repressive government who wants to surreptitiously research on human rights organizations in order to find dissidents to arrest?

If what they're trying to do is above board, state the objective up front rather than coming at it obliquely. There've been posters in the past that had questions in a similar vein that turned out to be trying to defraud someone (there've been other script kiddies; that's just the one that sticks in my mind due to the persistence and the astonishing utter ignorance of how networks work (OK, and the presence of one of my all time highest rep nodes :)).

OK I can see that point of view.

But consider this: if you are a bit naive and being scrupulous, you might not think about being perceived as dishonest. The possiblities might just never cross your mind. I often find myself having to puzzle over why certain regulations exist while I shift to a sneaky frame of mind to untangle the logic.

Or maybe the OP is not comfortable stating his reasoning for fear of drawing attention.
Continue my hypothetical: if you were trying to avoid a dictator's torture chamber, would you get on a message board and announce what you're trying to do and why?