Vale-BSGR lawsuit (re complicity in violence against villagers in Guinea)
Fuentes
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On 11 September 2018, the NGO “Mêmes Droits pour Tous” (MDT), supported by the Fédération Internationale des Droits de l’Homme (FIDH) and Advocates for Community Alternatives, filed a complaint against Vale-BSGR before the court of first instance of N’zérékoré in Guinea.
The plaintiffs accuse the company of complicity in killings, arrests and arbitrary detentions, torture and destruction of private properties belonging to inhabitants of the locality of Zogota, in the south of the country. The company reject these allegations.
The complaint alleges that in August 2012, the Guinean defence and security forces opened fire on Zogota’s villagers, killing six people and injuring several others. This violent repression followed a wave of local protests against the company’s recruitment policy. MDT asserts that Vale has provided vehicles to the defence and security forces in order to attack villagers. The company claims to “never have organised nor supported such acts of violence” in the region.
In 2012, a first criminal complaint was filed against five members of the defence and security forces. Nonetheless, the prosecutor dropped the charges for lack of jurisdiction.
Company Responses
Vale View Response