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	Witch doctors banned in Tanzania in bid to curb attacks on albinos by Reuters, AFP, agencies   9 Aug 2015   Five women accused of practising witchcraft beaten to death by villagers in India   Villagers in a rural part of eastern India have killed five women accused of practising witchcraft, police say.   Police in the state of Jharkhand said a group of assailants dragged the women out of their huts and beat them to death at around midnight on Friday in Kanjia village, some 40 kilometres from the state capital Ranchi.   The villagers blamed the five women for bringing illness, poor crops and bad luck on the village through witchcraft, a state police spokesman said.   "It looks like the village held a grudge against these women for a very long time, holding them responsible for various misfortunes," Jharkhand police spokesman S.N. Pradhan told news agency AFP.   Experts said belief in witchcraft and the occult remained widespread in some impoverished and remote areas in India, where women were sometimes accused of being witches to settle disputes or grievances.   In some cases women were stripped naked as punishment, burnt alive or driven from their homes and killed.   According to India''s National Crime Records Bureau, about 2,000 people, mostly women, were killed between 2000 and 2012 on suspicion of practising witchcraft.   Some Indian states including Jharkhand introduced special laws to try to curb crimes against people accused of witchcraft.   Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das condemned the latest killings in a statement on Saturday, urging society to "ponder over it". "In the age of knowledge, this incident is sorrowful," he said.   18 Feb 2015   Abducted Tanzanian albino boy found dead with limbs severed - reports Kizito Makoye   Tanzanian police said on Wednesday they had found the mutilated body of a one-year-old albino boy whose abduction renewed calls for tougher action to stop the killing of albinos for their body parts, prized in black magic.   An armed gang snatched Yohana Bahati from his mother at their home in northwestern Tanzania''s Geita region on Sunday, a month after the government announced a nationwide ban on witch doctors, who are accused of encouraging attacks on albinos.   He was the second albino child in two months to be abducted in the Lake zone of Tanzania. A four-year-old girl who was kidnapped in December is still missing.   More than 70 albinos, who lack pigment in their skin, hair and eyes, have been murdered in the east African nation in the past decade, according to U.N. figures, many hacked to death and body parts removed to make charms and spells that witch doctors claim bring good luck and wealth.   Joseph Konyo, Geita police commander, said police found Yohana''s remains on Tuesday and were still hunting his killers. "We are still determined to find whoever killed this young boy and bring them to justice. It doesn''t matter how long it takes," Konyo told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.   He said Yohana''s two siblings, who are also albinos, were under police protection while his mother, 30-year-old Esther Bahati, who was slashed with a machete as she tried to protect her son, is in a critical condition in hospital.   Vicky Ntetema, executive director of Under The Same Sun, a Canadian non-profit working to defend albinos, said the boy''s body was found in a village just kilometres from his home.   "Police found the body in Biharamulo Forest Reserve yesterday with his arms and legs hacked off," she said.   "When will Tanzanians stop believing in witch doctors who fuel the killings of persons with albinism for their body parts?"   The United Nations resident coordinator for Tanzania, Alvaro Rodriguez, condemned the latest killing, warning that 2015 as an election year could be dangerous for people with albinism.   Analysts believe some politicians seek support from witch doctors or traditional healers ahead of elections to improve their luck and seek albino body parts to be used in charms.   Rodriguez said Tanzania was trying to crack down on these attacks but there was still a high degree of impunity.   "Much more must be done to put an end to these heinous crimes and to protect this vulnerable segment of the population," Rodriguez said in a statement.   "Attacks against people with albinism can never be justified - not by culture, tradition or religion."   Ntetema added: "When will people in my country realize that organs of persons with albinism will never make one wealthy, successful and win elections?"   http://www.trust.org/item/20150218163305-hm9yj/?source=fiOtherNews2 http://albinism.ohchr.org/ http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=15673&LangID=E   15 Jan 2015   Witch doctors banned in Tanzania in bid to curb attacks on albinos   Tanzania has banned witch doctors in a bid to curb a rising wave of attacks on albinos.   More than 70 albinos, who lack pigment in their skin, hair and eyes, have been murdered in the east African nation in the past decade for black magic purposes, according to United Nations figures.   Many victims have been hacked to death and body parts removed.   The government has accused witch doctors of fuelling these killings by luring people to bring albino body parts which they grind up with herbs, roots and sea water to make charms and spells that they claim bring good luck and wealth.   The nationwide ban come less than a week after UN officials urged the government to step up efforts to end the discrimination and attacks after a girl was abducted last month from her home in northern Mwanza region. She is still missing.   Tanzania"s home affairs minister Mathias Chikawe said the government had formed a national task force, involving the police and members of the Tanzania Albino Society, to arrest and prosecute witch doctors defying the ban.   "We have identified that witch doctors are the ones who ask people to bring albino body parts to create magical charms which they claim can get them rich," he said. "We will leave no stone unturned until we end these evil acts."   Mr Chikawe said the operation would begin in two weeks time, initially targeting five regions, including Mwanza, Tabora, Shinyanga, Simiyu and Geita, where the government believes attacks against albinos are most prevalent. The operation would be expanded to other areas later.   He said the task force will also have the mandate to review previous court cases of albino attacks and killings to gather new evidence and further research the motive for attacks. The director of public prosecution would prioritise these cases.   The government has previously been widely criticized for failing to act to stop these macabre murders.   The Tanzania Albino Society welcomed the move, saying it would help end the worsening plight of albinos.   "I believe we can work together to end these acts of pure evil," spokesman Ernest Kimaya said.   Albinism is a congenital disorder which affects about one in 20,000 people worldwide, according to medical authorities. It is, however, more common in sub-Saharan Africa, affecting an estimated one Tanzanian in 1,400.   Witchcraft killings in Papua New Guinea to be condemned at community meeting   Church and community leaders from Papua New Guinea have organised a meeting this weekend with locals from the Hewa language area, in a remote part of Enga province, in an attempt to stop the killing of people accused of witchcraft.   A group of nine people from the nearby Wanakipa settlement, decided to hold the discussions after four women were accused of sorcery.   However, the witch finder or glass-man who made the claims has since retracted them and said she was pressured to make the allegations.   A Lutheran missionary in the Highlands, Anton Lutz who has helped organise the meeting, told ABC Pacific Beat the meeting would hopefully encourage people to come to the realisation that killing alleged witches was wrong.   He said organisers hoped the talks would culminate with a ceremony where arrows used to kill alleged witches would be broken.   "It would involve breaking the arrows, which are being used to kill people, and giving a gift of arrows to the other group of arrows that are used to hunt animals for food," he said. "So giving up a way of accusations of murder, in favour of a life of peace."   Mr Lutz said the witch finder who retracted the accusations she made against four women has agreed to be filmed saying she was wrong and this will be used at the community forum.   "She is willing and ready to take back her accusations and tell everyone openly how she was pressured into making those accusations and that they are in fact baseless and have no grounds whatsoever," he said.   "So she is going to be making that statement on camera, and we are going to show that to the community where she made the accusations."   27 Dec 2014   Four women, 13 children at risk of murder in PNG after being accused of witchcraft, missionary says   A group of four women, along with their 13 children and grandchildren, are at risk of being murdered in Papua New Guinea after being accused of witchcraft, a missionary says.   Anton Lutz, a Lutheran missionary in PNG"s Highlands, told Radio Australia"s Pacific Beat that while details are still coming in, the church, government and NGOs were trying to see if they coud help.   He said a "witch-hunter" pointed them out when villagers were investigating a measles outbreak that has killed several people. "A witch-hunter, as it were, travelled from a village called Wanakipa ... to the place where these women were and to identify them," he explained. He said their lives were in serious danger.   "This is happening in the Hewa language [group], which extends between the northern part of Hela province and the western part of Enga province," Reverend Lutz said.   "It"s a very large group and they are well known for murdering women."   Reverend Lutz said he knew of at least 25 women killed over the past 10 years after being accused of sorcery in the western part of the Hewa language group, with no arrests being made.   He said it was difficult to get the authorities to help, because the community was only accessible by one airstrip and reports had only just emerged about the imminent killings.   "It"s an extremely remote part of this country," he said.   But the missionary said accusations of sorcery and retaliatory violence against women were not unique to remote, undeveloped areas in PNG.   He pointed to last year"s killing in Papua New Guinea"s third-largest city, Mount Hagen, where Kepari Leniata, 20, was burnt alive after being accused of sorcery.   The young woman was from an area believed by many in PNG to be a hotbed of witchcraft.   "And she had run away from her village because she had been accused of this witchcraft thing and she escaped here," he said.   "But she was actually murdered [in Mount Hagen] based on accusations from [her hometown], which is where this story is unfolding.   "So it"s a very real risk that sort of extends right through the highlands."   Reverend Lutz said the accusations of sorcery were becoming more widespread.   "For instance, I live in the Enga province, in the eastern part of it, and there are no traditional beliefs about this kind of witchcraft," he said.   "But, because of the movement of people ... those who have never believed in these kinds of things before are now hearing these stories and believing in them."   Last year, a conference on sorcery in Melanesia heard the belief in the power of others to cause harm using supernatural powers was deeply ingrained in the region.   "We consider it a very troubling phenomenon that really goes to the heart of the international human rights framework as a human right violation against women"s right to life," said Nancy Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights regional representative.   "A right not to be tortured and also to lead a life without violence.   "These are issues that we are aware of exist in many countries, but her feel that it is inadmissible that by virtue of cultural practices, women"s right to life is being violated."   http://pacificinstitute.anu.edu.au/outrigger/2013/06/18/summary-sorcery-witchcraft-related-killings-in-melanesia-5-7-june-2013/ http://regnet.anu.edu.au/content/selected-literature-issues-relating-sorcery-and-witchcraft-beliefs-and-practices-melanesia
	Free Mauritania’s anti-slavery activists by Anti Slavery International, Walk Free, agencies   Dakar, 21 August 2015   Slavery in Mauritania: The gap between words and actions - Alioune Tine, Amnesty International West Africa Director   In August I had the privilege of meeting Biram Ould Dah Ould Abeid, the renowned anti-slavery activist and runner-up in the last Mauritanian presidential elections. We spoke for an hour about his life and his work. I would have liked to have spoken to him for longer. But this was not possible because our conversation took place in the courtyard of Aleg prison, one of the most dangerous prisons in Mauritania.   Biram Abeid has served over nine months of a two prison year sentence. He was arrested in November 2014, alongside 10 other campaigners, at a peaceful protest to raise awareness about land rights for people of slave descent. On Thursday, his sentence was heard by the appeal court.   Awaiting that decision, I was just one of many people around the world hoping that his sentence would be overturned and that he would be able to return to his family. But when the news came, it was not good. The harsh sentences against Biram Abeid and two other anti-slavery campaigners, Brahim Bilal and Djiby Sow, were upheld.   All three are members of anti-slavery human rights organizations, Kawtal and the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA). Over the years they have been peacefully campaigning to raise awareness about human rights concerns, including the impunity enjoyed by slave owners and the discrimination and human rights violations faced by people of slave descent. In Mauritania slaves and their descendants work on land without any rights and are forced to give a portion of crops to their traditional masters.   Ironically, just days before the appeal trial, on 11 August 2015, Mauritania adopted a law defining slavery as a crime against humanity. It was hoped that this would signal a move towards promoting human rights but yesterday’s decision has dashed those hopes.   In July and August, when I headed an Amnesty International mission to Mauritania, I met with authorities including the Minister of Justice and the Commissioner of Human Rights. I also met with human rights defenders and I travelled more than 250 km from Nouakchott to Aleg to visit Biram in prison.   Its remote location has created problems for family members wishing to visit the activists in jail. Biram Abeid’s wife and children have had to move to a house in Aleg just to be close to him.   Amnesty International considers Biram Abeid, Brahim Bilal and Djiby Sow to be prisoners of conscience. All three of them have been detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights and they should be released immediately and unconditionally.   Speaking to our mission, Biram Abeid made an empassioned plea.   I call on Mauritanian authorities to establish a constructive dialogue with anti-slavery activists, to open their doors and their hearts to begin resolving the problem of slavery. We believe that the attacks against freedom of expression and the imprisonment of human rights defenders are contrary to the country’s international legal commitments. Our place is not in prison but outside. - Biram Ould Dah ould Abeid   Those words are ever more poignant following yesterday’s appeals court decision.   http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/08/slavery-in-mauritania-the-gap-between-words-and-actions/   15 Jan. 2015   Mauritania jails anti-slavery activists. (AFP)   Police in Mauritania have used tear gas to disperse protesters, after three anti-slavery activists were sentenced to two years in prison on Thursday.   Biram Ould Dah Ould Abeid, the runner-up in 2014 presidential elections and the head of an anti-slavery group, was convicted along with one of his aides Bilal Ramdane, and Djiby Sow, a civic and cultural rights campaigner.   Seven others on trial for joining anti-slavery protests in November were released.   Dozens of their supporters stormed the courthouse and surrounded the prosecutor"s office, according to private news agency Al-Akhbar. Police responded with tear gas, leaving four injured, according to the news agency.   Amnesty International statement condemned the use of tear gas and batons force by police.   "We are going to appeal," Brahim Ould Ebetty, a defence lawyer told AFP in response to the guilty verdict.   The activists were charged with "belonging to an illegal organisation, leading an unauthorised rally, and violence against the police", their defence team said.   According to Amnesty, the activists were arrested while trying to educate people about land rights in the west African country where slave descendents are often forced to give up a portion of their crops to the traditional masters.   Gaetan Mootoo, Amnesty"s West Africa researcher, denounced the convictions, saying: "The intensifying crackdown on anti-slavery activists in Mauritania has no legal justification and is symptomatic of the government"s lack of respect for human rights."   The country was the last in the world to abolish slavery, in 1981, and since 2007 its practice has been officially designated a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.   But campaigners say the government has failed in the past to acknowledge the extent of the trade.   Dec. 2014 (Walk Free Campaign)   Biram Dah Abeid is a leading anti-slavery activist in Mauritania, the country with the highest prevalence of slavery in the world. The organisation he founded, the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement has fought for the freedom of countless men, women and children.   Mauritania fully outlawed slavery in 2007 but has systematically failed to end it in practice. It has fallen to activists like Biram to fight for people’s freedom and they face regular harassment and harsh treatment in their campaigning.   As you read this Biram and his fellow activists are sitting in a prison cell for their work to end slavery in Mauritania — and we need your help to secure justice. A huge wave of international pressure could help force the Mauritanian government to prioritize ending slavery and stop the harassment of anti-slavery activists.   Please call on the Mauritanian government to free Biram Dah Abeid and his fellow anti-slavery activists.   http://www.walkfree.org/mauritania/ http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/mauritania-jailed-presidential-candidate-and-anti-slavery-activists-must-be http://www.minorityrights.org/13049/press-releases/mauritania-ranked-as-worst-place-in-the-world-for-slavery.html http://www.antislavery.org/ http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jan/17/mauritania-anti-slavery-activists-jailed-biram-ould-abeid http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/08/freedom-fighter http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/ Visit the related web page
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