Anti-kidnap gadget for aid worker

Kidnapped aid workers could be saved by a new bracelet that uses Facebook and Twitter to alert millions of people to a hostage crisis.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Apr 2013, 01:01 BST

The device has been fitted with sat-nav technology and is linked to social media so it can alert to an attack within seconds.

The first bracelets are to be handed out this week in a bid to save lives in war zones.

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The Civil Rights Defenders campaign group, which has produced the bracelets, said the gadgets can be triggered manually when the wearer comes under threat, or automatically if the bracelet is forcefully removed.

The device is fitted with mobile phone technology which enables it to send out a message to any nearby contacts immediately and to the Civil Rights Defenders headquarters where the attack can be verified before a message is transmitted on social networking sites. The bracelets also issue a GPS location so rescue teams can locate where and when the attack took place.

The project aims to equip 55 civil rights workers with alarms over the next 18 months.

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