Bureau Recommends: Zimbabwe’s hidden diamond field torture camps
The Bureau recommends an investigation by Panorama unveiling torture camps in Zimbabwe’s lucrative diamond fields.
The programme contained reports from several victims claiming to have been victims of severe beatings and sexual assault.
This calls into question the EU’s decision to push for banned diamonds from the country to be accepted back onto world markets – lifting a trade ban from 2009.
An internal document leaked to the BBC showed the EU’s confidence that two mines in the area meet international standards.
The main torture camp uncovered by the programme is known locally as ‘Diamond Base’ and is described as a remote collection of military tents, with an outdoor razor wire enclosure where the prisoners are kept.
It is near to an area known as Zengeni in Marange – which is one of the world’s most significant diamond mines.
The company that runs the mine is run by a close personal friend of President Robert Mugabe.
