Dr Michael Naughton is a Reader in Sociology and Law with joint appointments in the School of Law and the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies (SPAIS).  He is also the Founder and Director of the Innocence Network UK (INUK) and the University of Bristol Innocence Project.

He will give an invited presentation to the International Conference on the Issues of Life-term Prisoners in Yerevan, Armenia,  November 20-22.

INUK is an umbrella organisation for 26 member innocence projects in UK universities who provide pro bono casework investigations to alleged victims of wrongful conviction who claim that they are factually innocent.

The University of Bristol Innocence Project is the first innocence project in the UK. It aims to educate undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Law School and SPAIS about the wrongful conviction of the innocent and the deficiencies of the criminal justice system through their work on cases of prisoners maintaining innocence who meet the casework criteria of the Innocence Network UK (INUK).

The conference is organised by the Helsinki Committee of Armenia (HCA). Established in 1995, HCA)is a non-government human rights organization that monitors the government's compliance with the Republic of Armenia's international human rights obligations and recommends legislative changes or new policy ideas to improve the quality of rights protection in the country. Where relevant, HCA challenges national laws that conflict with Armenia's international commitments. Members of HCA include attorneys and representatives who participate in court hearings. The organization collects and analyses information about the human rights situation in Armenia. HCA has produced and distributed information about a range of issues, including violations of religious freedom, infringement of the rights of ethnic minorities, political persecution, and abuse of the rights of members of the military

The conference received a project approval from East East: Partnership Beyond Borders Program of Open Society Foundations, which supports collaborative initiatives of nongovernmental and civil society organizations in two or more countries.

The conference received funding for external experts from the Yerevan office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the world's largest regional security organization.

Dr Naughton's presentation is entitled: 'Innocence projects and DNA testing in reviewing claims of innocence by life-sentenced prisoners maintaining innocence'

• For further information on INUK.
• For further information on the University of Bristol Innocence Project
• For further information on the Helsinki Committee of Armenia (HCA)
• For further information on East East: Partnership Beyond Borders Program of Open Society Foundations
• For further information on the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)