Netop som EU står for at godkende eksport af diamanter fra to miner i Zimbabwe, hævder BBC at have afsløret, at den zimbabweanske regerings sikkerhedsstyrker driver en torturlejr i samme område.
A torture camp run by Zimbabwe’s security forces is operating in the country’s rich Marange diamond fields, BBC Panorama has found.
The programme heard from recent victims who told of severe beatings and sexual assault.
The claims come as the European Union pushes to let some banned diamonds from the country led by President Robert Mugabe back onto world markets.
The Zimbabwean government has not responded to the BBC’s findings.
In an internal document seen by the BBC, the EU said it was confident that two mines in the area now meet international standards and it wants diamonds from those areas to be immediately approved for export, which would partially lift a trade ban dating back to 2009.
The main torture camp uncovered by the programme is known locally as “Diamond Base”. Witnesses said it is a remote collection of military tents, with an outdoor razor wire enclosure where the prisoners are kept.
(Hele dokumentaren kan høres på BBC d. 8. august 2011 kl. 19:30 dansk tid)
