We lead this week with the disturbing news that Dimitri Mobengo Mugianis, a dear friend and colleague, was set up by the DEA and arrested in Seattle for providing ibogaine treatments to chronic addicts. It is my belief that the DEA has been planning this for some time, and intend to "make an examp
The Youth Hostel Association was founded to help all, especially young people of limited means, to enjoy the countryside. Now the YHA is planning to sell off eight hostels, to be returned into the hands of the financially privileged.
Esme Madill, a consultant in the not for profit sector, spoke last night at a celebration of a London project for Somali children. She asked, if Cameron is calling on us to defend the values of the host community, who is part of this group? Can we have too many community groups, or too much cultur
Modernisation is a task, not a problem. Russians must first want a modern country if it is to ever emerge. Alexander Auzan, one of Russia's foremost experts on modernisation, outlines the difficulties going forward.
On Friday, prominent Russians of varied political hue presented a daring open letter to President Medvedev. In the best Soviet dissident tradition, they expressed concern for the future. Russia is at a crossroads, they said; and the country needs to embrace freedom if it is to avoid revolutionary
We lead this week with news of the impending meeting between UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, and Russian President Medvedev. We hope that recent positive emphasis at the UNODC on harm reduction, substitution therapy and human rights translates here into meaningful dialogue base
In October, two members of the Voina art collective were imprisoned for overturning police cars in provocative protest against corruption. As their criminal case continues, Danila Rozanov explains how their controversial methods have made it difficult to mobilise support.
Will this government help young people stay out of trouble and out of prison?: A response to the Committee of Public Accounts Report ‘The youth justice system in England and Wales; Reducing offending by young people’.
In 2005, encouraged by the Kremlin, 50 prominent Russians wrote an open letter supporting the original verdict against Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev. Five years and a second verdict later, Mumin Shakirov interviewed the signatories to see if they had changed their mind.
Natalya Vasilyeva is a court clerk and press secretary of Khamovniki Court, the unexpected last-minute venue of Khodorkovsky’s second trial. Disillusioned by “ordered justice” and political pressure, Vasilyeva today broke ranks in a sensational interview. She confirmed what many had already long s
We lead this weeks report with promising news of the launch of the new Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, Chaired by Professor David Nutt - former chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. In other news we assess 40 years of the war on drugs; the harassment of drug users in Ukr
