Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID), a UK-based nonprofit, has written to Petra Diamonds’ major debt holders to raise concerns about alleged human-rights abuses at its Williamson mine in Tanzania.RAID claims to have documented at least seven deaths and 41 assaults by security.
Mine that produced Queen s best-loved diamond hit by allegations of killings and beatings
The Williamson diamond mine in Tanzania has a unique royal history - but now faces allegations of grave abuses
11 January 2021 • 6:00am
The Queen has worn the dazzling pink diamond, set in a flower brooch, at events including her Silver Jubilee in 1977
Credit: Getty Images
Nestled on a diamond-rich stretch of one of Tanzania’s poorest regions, the Williamson mine occupies a special place in British royal history.
It was here, in the shadow of a baobab tree, that a group of boys found a diamond of such dazzling brilliance that the mine’s first owner, John Williamson, thought it was fit for a Queen.