Human Rights Video Weekly: Ukrainian activists attacked by pro-Russian mobs, Colombian community shelled, Ethiopian bloggers detained

This week’s Human Rights Channel review begins with an update of a video that emerged from Papua New Guinea in March. The video shows police officers set their dogs to attack a man, whom the German Shephards maul until he is able to run off. A month after international human rights groups called upon the PNG government to investigate the incident, the civilian in the video has spoken to the media, and the police department promised to discipline the officers involved. The victim, who says he was detained by drunken officers, says he plans to sue the department.

Here are highlights from recently featured videos on the channel:

Ukraine

http://youtu.be/kJLBBOsfPUY

Over the past several weeks in eastern Ukraine, journalists, activists, security forces, and politicians have been the target of attacks by pro-Russian mobs. Some of these instances have been caught on video. This one from April 13 reportedly shows injuries sustained by two pro-Ukraine activists beaten at a metro station in Kharkiv. The next week, an activist was tied to a tree after he addressed a crowd at a pro-Ukraine unity rally. The Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Watchboth issued alerts this week regarding the targeting of journalists and activists by civilians and armed groups opposing the Kiev government.

India

A herd of elephants and ruined brick houses–those are some of the images captured in this video report from northeast India, where deforestation is pushing wildlife into inhabited areas. The conflict led to tragedy when 14 elephants entered a town of Jharkhand, destroying crops, flattening houses and killing one resident. “We do not have the courage to stand before them,” one resident said of the animals.

Colombia

Just past three in the morning on March 24, a small village in northeast Colombia awoke to the sound of shelling. As residents of Hacarí testify, the town’s athletic field was bombed by a fleet of planes and helicopters from the Colombian airforce. They say the attack left the community terrorized and in search of answers from their government.

This week, we’re keeping our eyes on threats against internet activists in the Middle East and Africa:

Ethiopia

Six members of an Ethiopian blogging network known for its criticism of the government are behind bars. Their arrests follow the detention in March of another blogger, Befeqadu Hailu, arrested while taking photos at a demonstration. Due to severe repression of political protests in Ethiopia, we have seen very little citizen footage from the country, but that is changing. For example, this citizen footagefrom March 9 documents women from an opposition political party chanting for the release of political prisoners. Following the rally, seven of the women were arrested.

Saudi Arabia

In Saudi Arabia, authorities are exploring the regulation of YouTube video production. Videos from the country that have been featured on the Human Rights Channel address and/or document human rights issues ranging from corruption to labor abuse, migrant rights, and women’s rights.

Algeria

We’ve been following a crackdown on activists filming and reporting on protests in Algeria since the April 17 presidential election. On Global Voices, Algerian journalist Abdou Semmar reports on the state’s use of Facebook pages to identify, target, and threaten critics.

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The most recent citizen videos of issues can always be found our Citizen Watch and Watching Syria video playlists. You can also find the latest videos from Venezuela and Ukraine on our special playlists devoted to the ongoing conflicts in those countries.

Catch the latest citizen videos by following the Human Rights Channel on Twitter @ythumanrights.