Zimbabwe 'blood diamond' informant jailed

HARARE, Zimbabwe, June 28 (UPI) -- The Zimbabwean government has arrested and jailed a member of Parliament who intended to reveal an alleged mass grave site of diamond miners, sources say.

Without naming sources, The Sunday Times of London reported Shuwa Mudiwa, who represents the area of the Marange diamond fields where the workers' reported killings occurred, was arrested before he could reveal the location of the grave site to a group trying to prevent the sale of "blood diamonds."

The delegation from the Kimberley Process diamond certification effort were to visit Zimbabwe this week and confer with Mudiwa on the alleged massacre, but he is now being held on kidnapping charges. Other people the delegation wants to interview have been harassed and intimidated, the newspaper said.

The Sunday Times said some of the Zimbabwean diamond diggers reportedly were shot by soldiers from helicopters in an effort to bring the diamond fields under military control. Human rights groups have said they possess evidence that up to 250 people died in the incident, but Zimbabwe says no massacre ever took place.