How Twitter could save kidnapped aid workers

Kidnapped aid workers could be saved by a new hi-tech bracelet that uses Facebook and Twitter to alert millions of people to a hostage crisis.

The device has been fitted with satellite navigation technology and is linked to social media so it can inform about an attack within seconds.

The first bracelets will be handed out today in war zones where the risk of kidnap is high.

The Civil Rights Defenders campaign group, which has produced the bracelets, said the gadgets could be triggered manually when an aid worker or civil rights activist came under threat, or automatically if the bracelet was forcefully removed.

Each is fitted with mobile phone technology that enables it to immediately send a message to any nearby contacts and to the Civil Rights Defenders headquarters, where the attack is verified and a message transmitted on social networking sites.

Robert Hardh, executive director of the group, said: “These civil rights defenders are risking their lives for others to have the right to vote, or to practise religion or free speech. These are rights that westerners take for granted every day.”

The bracelets issue the wearer’s real-time GPS location so rescue teams can locate where the attack took place and its timing.