Mozambican Bar Association investigated “inhuman, degrading and macabre” ruby mine torture

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Mozambican Bar Association investigated “inhuman, degrading and macabre” ruby mine torture

12:06 CAT | 03 Aug 2017

The Mozambican Bar Association yesterday described the treatment of garimpeiros in a ruby mine in the north of the country by members of the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) as “inhuman, degrading and macabre”

“The Human Rights Commission of the Bar Association has followed up on the macabre, degrading and inhuman acts of torture and unusual violence perpetrated by elements of the UIR,” the organisation said in a statement distributed yesterday.

Mozambican police have confirmed that members of the UIR anti-riot police unit mistreated garimpeiros at the ruby mine in Montepuez which, according to media, has among its shareholders a ruling party war veteran and general.

A Mozambican Bar Association delegation was sent to the site to verify the veracity of the images captured, and established that the videos circulating on social networks date from 2013 and 2014.

“The Human Rights Commission of the Bar Association found that this kind of treatment by the public and private security forces has been common practice since the discovery of rubies in 2009,” the statement says.

According to the Bar Association, local people complain that mine exploitation is not creating benefits for the community, accusing Montepuez Ruby Mining of destroying houses and agricultural plots and trying to expel illegal miners.

Media outlets in Mozambique claimed the video scenes took place at the Namanhumbir mine, located about 2,000 kilometres from Maputo, where Montepuez Ruby Mining extracts rubies. The company denies the accusations.

According to Gopal Kumar, Montepuez Ruby Mining earned US$90 million from the sale of rubies between June 2016 and June 2017.

Source: Lusa