Russian officials have reprimanded a police officer caught on video tape striking a peaceful protestor with a baton and pulling his hair, according to the Moscow Times. The officer reportedly could face prison time for the incident, which can be seen at 7:22 in the clip below. The paper reports the unauthorized rally was staged to "draw attention to Article 31 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of assembly. The authorities have refused to authorize the rallies, organized by opposition and human rights activists on the last day of every month with 31 days since July 2009."
Hundreds of Red Shirt protesters defied a state of emergency and gathered for a demonstration in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday, where they called for early elections. At least ninety demonstrators linked to the Red Shirt movement were killed in two months of clashes with security forces that ended in April.
An angry mob outraged by a plan to build a highway in the middle of a Russian forest attacked the mayor's office in the Moscow suburb of Khimki, smashing windows with stones and smoke grenades, France 24 reports. YouTube user Berillii gave this account of his video to the French network's Observers program, confirming a report in Kommersant newspaper that the incident was the work of anarchists rather than environmental activists:
"At 6pm a big group of young people were gathered at Trubnaya Square in Moscow: there were anarchists, punks, young communists and regular students. Many of them looked like they'd just come to listen to a concert and didn't know that the music was a just a cover for a planned riot. At about 7pm, a singer from one of the bands climbed up on a statue overlooking the square and declared that police, private security guards and Nazi thugs were attacking the environmental protesters in Khimki, and that we should take revenge. He called everyone to go to Petrovsko-Razumovskaya train station, and we set off from there to Khimki in 10 minutes.
I think there were at least 200 people participating in the protest and ensuing riots: I saw several train wagons full. I recall seeing one guy pick up a metal rod from the rail track, and I was thinking that things could get ugly. The crowd marched down Moskovskaya street up to the administrative building. The column of people stretched all the way down the street. When the start of the protest reached the building and started shooting from traumatic pistols (Russian rubber-bullet self-defense guns), people at end of the procession thought that a clash had broken out between protesters and security. (In fact, security guards were completely taken by surprise, and quickly fled the scene.)
I ran to the front of the procession and started filming. My video shows what happened from then on: the shooting, the stone-throwing, the graffiti, then the retreat, the march back to the train station. Everything went very fast."
At least 50 people were arrested in Phoenix during protests against a tough new Arizona immigration law on Thursday, the day the law took effect. The videos below show SWAT officers and sheriff's deputies arresting demonstrators.
User name: Barriozona Location: Phoenix, Arizona Date uploaded: July 29 Event date: July 29 Views: 19 User notes: On the day Arizona immigration law SB 1070 was implemented, around 200 demonstrators carried acts of civil disobedience by blocking Washington Street between Central Avenue and 1st Avenue. Phoenix Police arrested several protesters who refused to clear the street. Video produced by Eduardo Barraza | Barriozona Magazine Click here to watch this video on YouTube.
Activists with Greenpeace UK said they shut down 46 BP gas stations in London today to protest the company's environmental record. Video uploaded to Greenpeace's YouTube channel shows activists flipping pump on/off switches and even erecting fences around stations to prevent drivers from entering. A BP spokesperson tells MSNBC the protest was "an irresponsible and childish act."
The Chinese government has dispatched paramilitary troops to the city of Suzhou, in Jiangsu province, to control protesters demanding compensation for land that was razed to make way for factories, according to the AP, which writes: "Such disputes are common in China as swaths of farmland are razed to make way for factories, office parks, golf courses and other urban sprawl."
Videos uploaded to YouTube show protestors clashing with police, and hundreds of security agents streaming into the city.
Protesters affiliated with Climate Ground Zero chained themselves to equipment at a coal mine owned by Massey Energy in Marfork, West Virginia. The activists, who say they're trying to call attention to the environmental damage caused by mountaintop mining, were reportedly arrested and charged with trespassing.
A protest group called Culture Beyond Oil poured dark molasses around a 3,000-year old statue on display at the British Museum. The group said it was demonstrating against BP's sponsorship of the museum amid the devastating Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Activists told reporters they chose an object from Easter Island because it "represents the way in which civilizations once considered invincible can collapse in a short period of time."
Business owners along a stretch of Broadway in downtown Oakland, California are removing graffiti and repairing broken windows in the wake of last night's riot. At least 83 people were arrested for failing to disperse, resisting arrest, burglary, vandalism and assaulting a police officer, according to KGO-TV.
Demonstrators marched through central Hong Kong today to mark the 13-year anniversary of the return to Chinese rule. They used the occasion to criticize recent electoral reforms which they said did not go far enough to ensure universal sufferage for Hong Kong residents.
Police and hundreds of demonstrators clashed in front of Puerto Rico's capitol on Wednesday, after lawmakers decided to close the legislature to the press and the public. When protesters attempted to enter the building, police pushed back with batons and sprayed tear gas, seen in the video below at 2:06.
A Toronto passer-by tackled a man trying to steal a box full of goods through a smashed store window at Saturday's G20 demonstration-turned-riot. "Don't steal," the passer-by admonishes in the video that captures the incident:
Police in Athens, Greece fired tear gas at protesters who hurled rocks and bottles and set garbage bins on fire in the latest strike against government budget cuts. The demonstrations took place near Parliament, where lawmakers are considering a round of austerity measures that include cuts to pensions and raising the retirement age, according to the BBC. Thousands of workers around the country are on strike while the changes are debated.
Toronto G20 demonstrators confronted police when asked to show identification today during continuing protests during the global economic summit. In advance of the event, the city designated the location of the meeting a temporary "public work" area expanding law enforcement's right to search and arrest anyone who comes within five meters of the protected zone and refuses to self-identify according to a report by The Globe and Mail.
Those convicted under the law can face up to two months in jail and a $500 fine, reports The Toronto Star.
Protesters rallied in Alexandria, Egypt today against police officers who they say tortured and killed a 28-year old businessman. According to the AP, "the death of Khaled Said has become a rallying point for pro-reform activists and rights workers who say police abuse is rampant." The wire service reports "demonstrators chanted once taboo slogans against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak" and the head of the country's police force.
Though opposition leaders have called off organized protests due to threats of violence, some activists are taking to the streets of Tehran to mark the one-year anniversary of the Iranian elections. The videos uploaded to YouTube show protests in Tehran and at the city's Sharif University:
An estimated 1,000 people gathered in Lower Manhattan on Sunday to protest a planned Islamic center and mosque that would be constructed two blocks from Ground Zero. Plans for the Cordoba House project were approved by a community board last month, and organizer say they plan to break ground later this year. YouTube users have uploaded footage from the weekend rally.
Videos in this playlist: 4 User name: CulturistJohn Video name: 9 11 Mosque Protest Video
User name: Probesford Video name: Raw footage of rally at WTC
User name: patriotUSA2007 Video name: Mega Mosque Protest at Ground Zero
User name: pakayhall Video name: SIOA Rally with Pamela Geller at Ground Zero
For the past three days, since Seh Daeng, defected Thai army officer and leader of anti-government protesters, was shot in the head, violence has raged in downtown Bangkok.
The protesters, known as the "Red Shirts", have taken to the streets again to demand the return of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was expelled from the country after a coup in 2006. The Thai military, which clashed violently with the Red Shirt protesters in early April, has taken up arms again to crack down against the mounting dissent.
Since last Thursday, more than 30 people have been killed, and over 230 are injured, and attempted negotiations between the two parties do not look promising.
Some video footage of these recent clashes has surfaced on YouTube, though not as much as was uploaded during the April protests. We cannot verify when or where these videos were taken, and are thus relying in each case on the information provided by the uploader.
This clip, taken from above the Rama 4 roadway in Bangkok, shows a group of protesters in the streets scattering after gunshots are fired. As the person holding the camera starts to run, the focus of the image is lost, but you can clearly hear the commotion as people run for safety.
User reggaejames also appears to be at the Rama 4 scene, but on the ground level. He has a series of videos on his channel that shows before, during, and after the gunfire.
This video allegedly shows snipers in the Thai military shooting at Red Shirt protesters:
For more videos from Thailand, check out this playlist, which we will continue to update.
From the looks of the newest videos being uploaded to YouTube with the tag "Iran", there have been more protests at the Science and Technology University in Tehran. Many of these videos are being labeled the "Elm Va sanat Protest"
Videos have continued to come streaming into YouTube throughout the day, and we've been updating this playlist with new videos as they've been posted.
This wobbly footage appears to show a clash between riot police and citizens - and shots can be heard in the background:
This video, which we found via the New York Times' Lede blog, shows students protesting at Polytechnic University pulling down a gate that's holding them in:
High school students are also participating in the protests:
This video from earlier in the day shows protesters and the Basiji facing off on either side of a fence:
This video indicates that protests have continued into the night in Tehran:
CitizenTube is YouTube's News and Politics Blog. Here you'll find important breaking news videos from citizens; developing trends in the use of YouTube by news organizations, activists, politicians, and governments; and lots of other YouTube goodness. Hit us up on Twitter, @citizentube, if you see something worth posting here.
