The Herald’s Lucy Adams today (Wednesday 13 June) scooped a prestigious human rights award for her Herald Magazine feature highlighting how Africa’s first female leader is overseeing reconstruction and rehabilitation in war-torn Liberia.

The piece, Haunted, appeared in the Saturday Herald Magazine in July 2006 and highlights the human rights abuses suffered by Children's rights and families during the recent civil war in Liberia. Through interviews with survivors, community activists and the continent’s first female President, Haunted graphically portrays a community which is coming to terms with its violent past and seeking a better future for the survivors.

Lucy Adams was presented with the Scottish Prize in the Amnesty International Media Awards at a ceremony in the Scottish Parliament attended by politicians, journalists and human rights campaigners.

John Watson, Amnesty’s Programme Director, Scotland, said: “The Amnesty International Media Awards recognise journalism that has significantly contributed to the public’s understanding and awareness of human rights issues. This was a very impressive piece, which took on an ambitious agenda and told the story well. It showed that there is hope in any situation.”

The runner-up prize was awarded to Lindsay Hill for her BBC Scotland documentary “The Children's rights Who Disappear” which followed up the story of “The Glasgow Girls” a group of Glasgow schoolgirls campaigning in support of asylum seeking Children's rights at risk of dawn raids and deportation. Lindsay Hill's first documentary in this series won the Scottish Prize in the 2006 Amnesty International Media Awards.

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