A journalist and human rights

Ivan Khurtoskoy was shot dead in Moscow on Monday. He was a friend of the recent murdered lawyer Stanislav Markelov. Please read the New York Times' report. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/11/17/world/international-uk-russia…...

Colombian human rights defender at risk COLUMBIA Ingrid Vergara (f)and her daughter Cendy Torres Vergara(f) Female human rights defender Ingrid Vergara has received death threats and her daughter, 14-year-old Cendy Torres Vergara, has...

Please see below a report by Al Jazeera on the abuse of prisoners in Russia's prisons. Please note the footage contains scenes of graphic violence. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/11/2009111622955556546.ht… Billy Briggs...

This is a press release from the refugee agency, UNHCR, regarding fighting in the Yemen. More and more Yemeni civilians are fleeing embattled Sa’ada province in northern Yemen as the fighting between government troops and Al Houti...

I found the following comment piece by David Pratt of the Sunday Herald timely and necessary. Any comments? http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/guest-commentary/berlin-wall-is-g…...

From now on I'll be regularly adding links to stories about neo-Nazi across Europe. Please find below a report about Italy. www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.3981437857 Thanks for your time. Billy Briggs. www.billybriggs...

Please take the time to read the following press release from UNHCR regarding conflict in northern Yemen which is forcing hundreds of people into refugee camps. Heavy fighting forces 2,000 persons to flee in to Al Mazrak camp last...

Please take the time to read the following press release from UNHCR regarding conflict in northern Yemen which is forcing hundreds of people into refugee camps. Heavy fighting forces 2,000 persons to flee in to Al Mazrak camp last...

Wilders has won his appeal and comes to Britain on Friday. It will be interesting to see how this is used by the English Defence League who've been protesting in UK cities. Any thoughts? http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/13...

This is from UNHCR today about Yemen. Please take time to read. Thanks. www.billybriggs.co.uk The situation in the north of Yemen remains tense and volatile. The civilian population of Sa’ada governorate continues to flee to the...

This is from Amnesty's urgent action team. Please read. Thanks. Billy Briggs. www.billybriggs.co.uk SYRIAN KURD DISAPPEARS, RISKS TORTURE SYRIA Berzani Karro, who is 20, is now known to have been arrested at Damascus airport on 27 June...

This comes from UNHCR about Yemen. The escalation of fighting between Al Houthi rebels and the government forces in northern Yemen over the past few days is worsening what is already a dire and complex humanitarian emergency. UNHCR is...

This comes from UNHCR about Yemen. The escalation of fighting between Al Houthi rebels and the government forces in northern Yemen over the past few days is worsening what is already a dire and complex humanitarian emergency. UNHCR is...

Please read this BBc report about the latest murder in Russia of a human rights activist. Her name was Natalia Estemirova and she was investigating alleged abuses by government-backed militias in Chechnya http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi...

I found the following article published yesterday by The Observer quite interesting. The author highlights a a new survey that has uncovered the extent to which the UK government is operating outside the law with regards to collecting...

Last week Guatemala witnessed a landmark moment in its history when human rights investigators released publicly for the first time files from a top secret police archive discovered in 2005. Guatemala is a traumatised nation still...

This is the latest on the murder of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya (SEE SUNDAY HERALD LINK BELOW) who was shot dead in Moscow in October, 2006. More than 100 journalists have been murdered in Russia since the early 1990s. In...

Photographer Angela Catlin and I spent some time recently in Irsael and the West Bank documenting peace projects for an international festival in Edinburgh. The region often makes headlines for the wrong reasons but despite the...

I'm just back from a trip to Israel where I witnessed a Bedouin village being razed to the ground by security forces, and Sunday Herald in Scotland published the following article. Israel is forcibly removing Bedouin Arabs from land...

A private member's Bill is currently making its way through the UK parliament and is due for its third reading. If enacted it would enable victims of torture to seek compensation through the courts for torture they've suffered abroad...