This week on the Human Rights Channel, citizen footage takes us from the streets of Cairo, where protesters spent the weekend marking the anniversary of the Egyptian revolution, to demonstrations in Sanaa, Yemen, where political turmoil has left a rebel group in de-facto control of the country. Also this week we featured video of the aftermath of a bombing in eastern Ukraine and a new video released condemning the state of Israel for failing to protect Thai agricultural workers from exploitation, poor conditions and, in some cases, being worked to death.

Protestors clash with security forces in Egypt

January 25 marked the fourth anniversary of the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Throughout the country protesters took to the streets to commemorate the occasion and to express discontent with the current military regime of General Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. In a number of locations protesters clashed with Egyptian security forces, leaving at least 20 dead over the weekend including leading socialist activist Shaimaa al-Sabbagh, whose death was captured on video by several citizen witnesses.

This video captures citizens fleeing from tear gas during a clash with security forces in the Cairo suburb of Matariya, a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood that sustained the highest death toll during the protests.

Pro-Russian separatists reportedly shell civilian area in Eastern Ukraine

Shelling was reported in the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol on January 24. Local authorities announced that at least 30 civilians were killed as a result of the attack. The Ukrainian government issued a statement on Facebook blaming the shelling on pro-Russian separatists. Over the past months there has been an escalation in the violence and death toll in the eastern Ukraine as a result of the ongoing conflict between the Ukrainian government and Pro-Russian rebels. This video from Radio Free Europe captures the streets of Mariupol directly following the attack.

Report spotlights poor treatment of Thai agricultural workers in Israel

In a new report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) investigates the conditions of Thai agricultural workers in Israel. Their research finds that many Thai workers, in Israel on five-year work permits as a result of a bilateral trade agreement signed in 2011, are severely underpaid and overworked. In recent years, attention has been brought to the alarming rates of death among these workers due to extremely long hours and a lack of rest. Many workers live in small crowded facilities and are forced to spray harmful pesticides without suitable protective gear. While Israeli labor laws are strong when it comes to the protection of foreign workers, HRW concludes that they are not well enforced, leading to abuses in the agricultural sector.

Protests erupt over Houthi takeover in Yemen

Following the January 22 resignation of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi due to pressure from Houthi rebels, the rebels have taken control of the capital, Sanaa. The Houthis are a Shia minority group from the northern Saada province who have been pushing for greater autonomy from the Yemeni state for over a decade. On January 26, thousands of protesters gathered vocalize their opposition to the Houthi take over of the city and demand the reinstatement of President Hadi, his prime minister and his cabinet (their resignations have not been accepted by the Yemeni parliament, a necessary step for their enactment). The protests were reportedly violently repressed by the Houthi Rebels, who wounded and detained a number of protestors. This video shows protesters chanting and then fleeing from the Houthi forces.

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And for resources on citizen video verification and curation, visit the Human Rights Channel’s website.

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