“#IndexAwards2015: Journalism nominee Rafael Marques de Morais”, 19 February 2015

Rafael Marques de Morais is an Angolan journalist and human rights activist...currently facing nine charges of defamation after publishing on human rights abuses committed during diamond mining operations in Angola…[He]…has dedicated his career to investigating his country’s maka: ingrained corruption in Angolan government and industry, and the repeated violation of Angolans’ human rights…his 1999 article The Lipstick of Dictatorship…said Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos was propagating the country’s civil war to distract attention from his regime’s “incompetence, embezzlement and corruption”…Marques was arrested and detained for 40 days without charge…His six-month sentence for defamation…was then suspended on condition that he wrote nothing critical of the government for five years…Recently…[he]…has focused on following money trails between government figures and business leaders, especially in diamond and oil industries...Marques’ leading investigative work into corruption and human rights abuses at Angola’s diamond companies was distilled into his 2011 book Blood Diamonds: Torture and Corruption in Angola...Marques declared the bosses of these groups morally responsible for the atrocities committed under them, and filed charges of crimes against humanity against seven Angolan generals…[who]…launched…lawsuits…charging Marques with criminal libel...(inclui vídeo)