Earlier this month, we worked with @LHreports, @SkyNews and @Guardian to show that US police had used UK-made anti-riot gear to harm journalists and forcefully subdue protesters at #BLM protests.

This is how we did it. bellingcat.com/uncategorized/…
@LHreports @SkyNews @guardian Over the summer, the UK government stated that it reviewed potential uses of British-made anti-riot equipment at BLM protests in the US.
@LHreports @SkyNews @guardian This review found “no evidence” that UK exported equipment was used. However, it left open the “possibility” UK products could have been in the hands of US police given the wide number of end users for such products in the country
@LHreports @SkyNews @guardian Our research not only found UK riot equipment being used, but being employed to harm journalists and confront peaceful demonstrators
@LHreports @SkyNews @guardian In early June, a US Parks Police officer was filmed striking an Australian journalist with a shield in Washington DC

We were able to identify the shield as being a product made by UK based company Scorpion PPE.
@LHreports @SkyNews @guardian The shields are identifiable through their distinctive design, bolt fittings, backing, labels and shape.
@LHreports @SkyNews @guardian Another police officer was filmed striking a BBC cameraman in Washington DC using the same type of Scorpion PPE shield.
@LHreports @SkyNews @guardian The way in which the shields being used would appear to raise questions about whether the export of such products should continue to be approved by UK authorities, a question that has been raised by MPs in the country

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More from @bellingcat

10 Oct
How have UK-made sniper rifles ended up in Yemen, Syria and Ukraine?

This investigation, in conjunction with @LHreports @SkyNews and @guardian, sought to trace the journey of one brand of British-made weapons from license, to export to deployment.

bellingcat.com/news/2020/10/1…
@LHreports @SkyNews @guardian The UK states it has one of the most comprehensive arms export control regimes in the world.

It also has rules and commitments which include taking caution in granting licenses for sale to countries where human rights abuses have been established.
@LHreports @SkyNews @guardian But we found British-made sniper rifles being used by Turkish troops in Syria as well as Saudi forces in Yemen.

Both nations have been criticised by human rights groups for some of their actions in these countries.
Read 6 tweets
8 Oct
As the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh rages, credible reports have been published about foreign fighters on the battlefield. Accordingly, some observers wonder whether Russian mercenaries have also found their way to the South Caucasus.
bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-eu…
In the spotlight is PMC Wagner, Russia's largest private military contractor which has already made its mark on several foreign conflicts. And now, a Telegram channel linked to Wagner has been dropping hints that its mercenaries are now in Nagorno-Karabakh.
But geolocation of some of the channel's photos has revealed that they were not actually taken in the South Caucasus — but in Syria. These hints appear to have been a hoax; there is no evidence that Wagner has boots on the ground in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Read 4 tweets
7 Oct
We're running three free webinars on conflict verification, focusing on the Karabakh conflict.

The first will be in English (w/ @AricToler) on Friday: events.eventzilla.net/e/free-conflic…
The second in Armenian (led by @narin_kh) next Tuesday (link coming soon).
The third in Russian (TBD).
Please only sign up for one, picking the language you are most comfortable with!

The Russian-language training is tentatively with @aiganysh_aidar and likely be next week as well. We'll share links to all three webinars once we get them up and running.

Only 30 people per event.
The content of each webinar -- focusing on basic verification methodologies and geolocation around photos/videos coming out of the conflict -- will be the same, just in different languages.
Read 6 tweets
7 Oct
Today in Germany we have the start of the trial of a Russian citizen for the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin, a case Bellingcat did a significant amount of investigation into, revealing Russian intelligence link to the assassination.
themoscowtimes.com/2020/10/07/hig…
Our first investigation showed the suspect travelled using fake identity documents, the first clue that the suspect was linked to the Russian intelligence services bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-eu…
Our next investigation showed further connections between the assassin and the Russian state, and that a tip received by German investigators to the real identity of the suspect was a false lead bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-eu…
Read 6 tweets
1 Oct
Quitobaquito Springs, a Sonoran desert oasis that supports several
endangered species, is dramatically losing water.

But who, or what, is to blame? bellingcat.com/resources/2020…
Environmental advocates and the Tohono O’odham Nation are sure that construction of
President Trump’s border wall, which is happening close to the springs, is strongly linked to the fall in water levels. Yet federal agencies say otherwise.
In this piece, Bellingcat's Tech Team was able to show that the loss of water is without recent precedent by analysing Sentinel-2 imagery and climatological data.
Read 6 tweets
30 Sep
Could U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in 2018 have hit hospitals or makeshift medical facilities in Syria?

@extranjerotruth and @soph_timmermann reviewed monitoring reports, gathered UGC and analysed satellite data to try and answer this question. bellingcat.com/news/mena/2020…
@ExtranjeroTruth @Soph_Timmermann A number of local media reports, and international monitoring groups, previously suggested coalition strikes were responsible for damaging medical sites in Deir ez-Zor Governarate in 2018.
@ExtranjeroTruth @Soph_Timmermann But this has been contested by the coalition. When contacted by Bellingcat with details of the strikes in question, they said the reports were “not credible.”
Read 6 tweets

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