violence
18/11/2011 / SAUDI ARABIA
31/10/2011 / RUSSIA
Hit, kicked and bruised: beatings at Russian women’s prison caught on video
A Russian prison official has been placed in detention for at least two months after footage of him punching, kicking and pulling the hair of female inmates was leaked online, sparking outrage and calling the country’s penal system into question. Watch the videos…
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30/09/2011 / BULGARIA
'Gypsy Tsar' case triggers violent protests against Roma community
The death of a 19-year-old killed in a car accident in a small Bulgarian village has set off violent protests against the Roma community all over the country. The young man was run over last week by a relative of Kiril Rachkov, a wealthy Roma patriarch nicknamed "the Gypsy Tsar." The demonstrations triggered by the incident saw some protesters denouncing corruption and the lack of security in Bulgaria, and others used it as an excuse to unleash racial hatred against the Roma community. Read more...
16/09/2011 / SYRIA
Will the uprising succeed? Six months in, Syrians take stock
The wave of popular revolt sweeping across Syria is entering its seventh month. The United Nations estimates that government repression of the movement has already left more than 2,600 dead. We asked our Observers in different Syrian cities if they still believe, despite the repression, that the uprising can still prevail. Read more ...
01/09/2011 / Bahrain
“People are going to revolt even more” after teenager killed in Bahrain protest
A fourteen-year-old boy died on Wednesday after being wounded in an anti-government demonstration on the island of Sitra, in Bahrain. Protest organizers say he was killed by a tear gas canister reportedly shot directly at him by police. According to our Observers, this incident could spark a new wave of protests in the country. Read more...
22/08/2011 / VENEZUELA
Thugs in their lifetime, worshipped as saints today
As Venezuela’s urban crime rate soars, devotion to a very particular group of saints known as the “Santos Malandros” or “Corte Malandra” is becoming widespread. These “holy thugs” wearing dark sunglasses, baseball caps and guns tucked in their belts might have been petty criminals during their lifetime, but are now considered modern-day Robin Hoods. Read more...
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16/08/2011 / SYRIA
Bikes on the frontline of Syria's deadly crackdown
As Syria’s deadly repression of widespread anti-government protests rolls into a fourth month, a peculiar pattern seems to have emerged – each crackdown is followed by the systematic destruction of bikes and scooters. Watch the videos...
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05/08/2011 / RUSSIA
Russian anarchists fight capitalism with fire
In Russia, anarchists are increasingly attacking symbols of capitalism and authority by setting them on fire. These arsonists, linked through a secretive network, say they are ready to do whatever it takes to get their message out. We talked to one of them. Read more…
26/07/2011 / NORWAY
Norway survivor: "I lay on the beach surrounded by bodies, playing dead"
On July 22, Anders Behring Breivik, a 32-year-old Norwegian right-wing extremist, planted two bombs near an Oslo government building and went on a brutal shooting spree in a Labour Party youth camp on the nearby island of Utoeya. On that fateful Friday, Adrian Pracon, 21, was volunteering at the camp. Little did he know when he heard about the Oslo bombings that his life was about to change forever. Read more...
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22/07/2011 / LEBANON
Baathist official’s ferocious rampage caught on camera
A CCTV video that recently emerged on the Internet has kicked up a storm in Lebanon. It shows five men enter a pharmacy, insult the employees and ransack several displays. But it is the identity of one of the thugs more than the rampage itself that has caused the biggest stir : he has turned out to be a known representative of the local Baath party – which is widely despised in Lebanon for its close ties to Syria. Read more…
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