Angolan anti-graft campaigner Rafael Marques testified Wednesday to prosecutors investigating his claims that seven generals committed crimes against humanity in the country's diamond fields.
Marques, also an author, has accused the generals of being behind torture and killings committed by soldiers as well as by private security forces hired to protect diamond concessions in the northeastern Lundas region.
He has singled out the Cuango Mining Society, a consortium that includes a company called Lumanhe, in which he says the generals have a stake.
"I left satisfied with the hearing because it was conducted impartially enough," Marques told AFP after giving four hours of testimony to deputy attorney general Domingos Salvador Andre Baxe.
"I felt that the deputy attorney general was understanding and open, to conduct the investigation for the better," he added.
"The victims are already interacting directly with the attorney general, the accused are doing the same. We'll then see the contradictions that come up in the depositions," Marques said.
Once the investigation is complete, prosecutors will decide whether to bring the case to trial.
Marques filed the complaint against the generals on November 14, 2011. Hearings began on March 5, and Marques said four of the 10 victims named in the case had given testimony.
Marques has denounced abuses in Lundas since 2004, especially in the towns of Cuango and Xa-Muteba. His most recent book, "Blood Diamonds: Corruption and Tortue in Angola", was published in September.
His research for the book forms the basis of his criminal complaint.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/angolan-activist-testifies-blood-diamonds-hearing-171241131.html
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