Spanish authorities have arrested an American-Belgian businessman who is suspected of enslavement and dealing in “blood diamonds”.
The arrest was welcomed as a “landmark” by the legal aid group Civitas Maxima as it is the first time anyone has been held on international charges related to exploiting the civil war in Sierra Leone by selling blood diamonds.
'Blood diamond' refers to diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to fund a rebellion or to assist an invading army. In recent years, blood diamonds have been mined during civil wars in Angola, Sierra Leone and other countries.
The National Court said Michael Desaedeleer, who was apprehended at Malaga airport, has agreed to be handed over to the Belgian authorities who had been seeking his arrest. Until then, he will remain in a Spanish prison.
“[The case] will help to raise awareness of the pivotal role played by financial actors in the trade of mineral resources that fuel armed conflicts in Africa and elsewhere,” Alain Werner, director of Civitas Maxima, told Reuters.
He also said the arrest was the result of a complaint made in Belgium by several Sierra Leone citizens in 2011.
That complaint alleges that the crimes occurred between 1999 and 2001 in the country’s eastern Kono area where the rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front, enslaved civilians into working the diamond pits.
The then president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, was found guilty in 2012 of giving support to the rebels in exchange for receiving the diamonds.
Tens of thousands of people died during the Sierra Leone civil war which lasted from 1991 to 2002.
