Zimbabwe activist arrested; allegedly gave false information to world diamond control body

Zimbabwe activist held for dishing diamond dirt

HARARE, Zimbabwe — A defense lawyer says Zimbabwean police have arrested a prominent rights activist and say he gave false information about the country’s controversial diamond mining practices to the international diamond control body.

Lawyer Tinoziva Bere says his client Farai Maguwu, who heads an independent rights group, turned himself in to police in the eastern city of Mutare on Thursday.

Maguwu told lawyers that security agents were after him after he met with a top Kimberly Process investigator last month. He says police harassed his relatives and seized documents, his passport and a vehicle from his Mutare home.

Zimbabwe’s diamond industry has been tarnished by allegations of killings and rights violations by troops and smuggling of “blood diamonds.”