violence

Stabbed in broad daylight by a soldier, proof in photos

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:27:00 +0200

These photos show a Guinean soldier stabbing a supposed protestor in broad daylight. The scenes are even more brutal than those which were revealed the day after the September 28 massacre in Conakry, something which junta chief Moussa Dadis Camara refuses to accept responsibility for, saying that he was "overwhelmed" by his army.

The following account comes from the person who took the photos. His story has been verified by one of our Observers, Kouyaté, who went to the spot where the stabbing took place. He spoke to another eyewitness, who gave the same story.

UPDATE (16.10.09 - 11am Paris time): the Red Cross confirms having had picked up a man with knife injuries on 29 September in the Bambeto district. The victim was in a critical condition, but still alive on arrival at Donka hospital. We will further update this post if we receive more information.

Two drunks pick a fight with cross-dressing cage-fighters

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:55:18 +0200

This CCTV footage shows a couple of drunks picking fights on the streets of Swansea, Wales. Nothing unusual there then. Until they approach a pair of what they think are transvestites. In fact, the men, dressed in heels, wigs, and hot pants, are two professional cage fighters on their way to a fancy dress stag night.

The drunks notice the cross-dressers at 1:05. Before that we see them fighting with several others, including a man dressed as Spiderman.

The attackers were sentenced this week to a four-month community order, during which they will be electronically tagged. The footage, filmed on August 30, 2009, was shown in court. Meanwhile, the pair from the "Swansea Predators" cage fighting team have become local stars and a hit on YouTube; the footage of their feat has already received over 130,000 views in less than 24 hours.

Beaten to death with splintered railroad ties – “business as usual” in Chicago

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:44:12 +0200

The following video shows a 16-year-old being brutally beaten to death in a fight between two Chicago gangs. The shocking footage is far from rare - Derrion Albert is the 47th schoolchild to be killed in the city this year.

Barack Obama's hometown of Chicago is one of the most violent in the United States, with an estimated 100,000 gang members in a city of three million. According to Chicago Public Schools officials, almost 300 school-aged children have been shot in the past 12 months. The footage of Derrion Albert's murder on September 24, which was filmed on a mobile phone and passed on to the local police, prompted Obama to dispatch Attorney General Eric Holder and education secretary Arne Duncan to Chicago to "search for solutions to youth crime".

The footage emerged just days before the Olympics committee ruled Chicago out as a potential host for the 2016 games, leading some to believe that the brutal images might have spoiled the city's chances.

Photos of women stripped naked and humiliated, posted online

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:55:19 +0200

Photographs of Guineans being humiliated naked in the street during last Monday's opposition crackdown are circulating on the Net. One of our Observers says he witnessed the scene when this photo was taken.

A few days after the brutal repression in Conakry last week, several photos of women being abused by soldiers were posted on the Guinea News forum. We were sent these ghastly images but chose only to publish one, after blurring the face of the victim.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has called for an investigation in order to bring to justice "all those responsible for carrying out summary executions, rapes and other human rights violations" in what she described as a "bloodbath" at the hands of the Guinea's army.

Will Captain Camara cause Guinea's downfall?

Team Observers — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:37:55 +0200

Posted on flickr by pyngodan.

Still in shock after the bloody crackdown that cost the lives of 157 people on Monday in Conraky, Guineans wait in apprehension for their junta leader’s next move. One of our Observers gives us his view of captain Moussa Dadis Camara’s nine months in office.

The Head of Guinea’s military junta has tried to distance himself from the bloodbath that took place in Conraky stadium on Monday, when government troops opened fire on thousands of opposition protesters. Camara claims he doesn’t control the army, but his image as a peaceful transition leader after former president Conté’s death is in shambles, and many Guineans view him as nothing more than a dictator.

Although his political and economic achievements after nine months in office are considered mediocre at best, Captain Camara readily sees himself in the presidential seat for good.

"Security forces surrounded the stadium and began shooting"

Team Observers — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:22:56 +0200

A day after anti-government protests ended in a brutal bloodbath, Guineans are slowly getting over the shock. Over 150 people were reportedly killed on Monday in Conakry, when security forces attacked a gathering of thousands of opposition protestors.

Captain Moussa Dadis Camara promised peace and stability when he seized power on the death of former president Lansana Conte in December 2008. Nine months later, Conakry experienced its bloodiest day in recent history.

Security forces shot at a crowd of people gathered at the Conakry stadium to protest Camara’s possible candidacy in the upcoming presidential elections. Although the junta chief had promised his fellow citizens and the international community that he would not run for office, his intention to go back on his word has become clear in recent weeks.

The UN, the United States and France all firmly condemned the violence in Conakry and continue to put pressure on Camara to honour his promise not to run for office.

Video: ‘Hero’ bricklayer shot to death while tackling metro gunman

Team Observers — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:18:48 +0200

When a crazed gunman opened fire in crowded Mexico city metro station on Friday, most people bolted for the nearest exit. But not Esteban Cervantes Barrera, who single-handedly tackled the gunman - and died a hero.

Cervantes, a 56-year-old mason, was one of thousands of people on their way to work when a gunshot rang out in the Balderas metro station in central Mexico City. A man in his wagon had begun shooting indiscriminately after a policeman on patrol tried to stop him from scribbling graffiti on a wall.

The mute video surveillance footage below shows Cervantes, unarmed and unprotected, lunging at the man and attempting to disarm him several times before being shot in the head. A policeman was also killed and several other people wounded before security forces managed to restrain the killer.

The gunman, a 38-year-old unemployed man, was heard to shout "It's not against you, it's against the government!" to the crowd as he shot in the air. He told police that he committed the attack because he had a "message to send out to the city".

Cervantes has been hailed as a hero by his countrymen and buried with national honours in Mexico City's civilian pantheon.

Video surveillance footage: beaten to death by Uighurs

Team Observers — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:32:00 +0200

Three surveillance videos from last July’s riots in China’s Uighur province have recently resurfaced on the Net. The violent footage shows a Han Chinese beaten to death by a mob of Uighurs. Why are these dated videos suddenly appearing online?

The scene was filmed by hospital surveillance cameras in the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi on July 5. That week, ethnic riots left 197 people dead, according to state media.

After the bloodshed, Chinese media were quick to broadcast footage of torched Chinese stores and injured Han Chinese (the main ethnic group in the country), blanking out images of the brutal police repression against Uighur protestors.

Nearly two months after the clashes, the situation remains very tense in Urumqi. The three videos, that show different moments of the same mob scene, were posted for the first time on YouTube "xjwlmq" in August. The buzz surrounding them only truly started on September 4, when they were posted on Liveleak the day Han protests broke out in Urumqi. Our Observers wonder whether Chinese authorities are not behind the buzz’s timing: the footage offers a perfect justification for Han anger and violence.

Warning: these images may be upsetting.

The attack took place in front of Urumqi’s largest hospital. The YouTuber adds that the medical staff from the hospital didn’t dare intervene for fear of being attacked themselves.

A trendy new game: ‘bum fighting’

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:52:55 +0200

Some young Americans have launched an utterly sinister trend: organising fights between homeless people ("bum fights"), then posting the video of the clash on YouTube.

It all began with a "bum fighting" DVD, which came out in 2001 and sold 6.8 million copies. The producers of this DVD were sentenced, in 2003, to community service and their site was closed, but the trend had begun. According to a report published by the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), there are more and more videos on the internet of "bum fighting" or which show homeless people being made to do dangerous activities (go down a staircase in a trolley or on a skateboard for example), in exchange for a pack of beers or a few dollars. The NGO found almost 86,000 videos on YouTube containing "bum" (a highly pejorative term for homeless people) in their title, adding that almost 15,000 of them were posted last year. Most of these videos to which the NGO refers do not show pictures of the fighting, as these are deleted by YouTube, but pictures of "bum fighting" are easily accessible on specialised sites.

According to the NCH, 106 homeless people in the US were beaten up for no reason in 2008, of which 27 were beaten to death. In most cases, the homeless people are attacked by groups of young people, who then circulate the videos on the Web.

Washington, D.C. has already extended its law on hate crimes to include attacks on homeless people, and the US Congress is currently studying a federal law on the subject.

Algeria: “A real risk of a mass uprising”

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:24:51 +0200

So infuriated by "administrative burdens", protestors piled burning tyres onto a major motorway leading to the Algerian capital on Saturday.

Residents from Sikh Ounteddour, a village in the northern coastal Kabylie province, began filling the motorway with debris as a way to protest against a disorganised social services system which they say is slowing down and complicating their lives. Blocking major routes as a method of protest has become something of a normality in Algeria, raising concerns that a general uprising is imminent.

Video posted on YouTube 26 July 2009 by "algeriachannel".