Jim Loughran

Jim was head hunted by Irish based international human rights organisation Front Line Defenders, which works world-wide on the security and protection of human rights defenders at risk, to take up the newly created role of Head of Media and Communications. Prior to his retirement he was responsible for setting up the Human Rights Defenders Memorial Project, a unique collaborative project involving leading national and international organisations to document the killings of human rights defenders. He was the author of ‘Stop the Killings’ a major report which analysed the patterns of violence that led to the killings of human rights defenders in: Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and the Philippines. These 6 countries collectively account for 80% of the killings of human rights defenders annually. He was jokingly referred to in the office as, ‘Head of Killings.’

Jim lives in Dublin with his husband. Since he retired Jim has shifted his focus from writing press releases and opinion articles to historical fiction. His first published work, ‘Ill Met by Moonlight’ is a short story published in October 2025 by Briar Press, New York, as part of ‘These Dark Things,’ an anthology of 12 gothic short stories.