Manuel Terrén
Facts
| Role | Businessman involved in the blood diamond trade with the RUF |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Period of Activity | Last period of the civil war in Sierra Leone (1998-2002) |
| Charges | Crimes against humanity and war crimes |
| Status | Under investigation |
Resources
External links
- The Olive Press (2024) – Blood diamond raid on spain’s costa del sol: armed police arrest alleged trafficker
- Policía National (2024) – La Policía Nacional detiene a un ciudadano español por su presunta implicación en el tráfico de diamantes de sangre
Manuel Terrén Parcerisas, a Spanish businessman living in Brazil, was arrested in Málaga on 2 July 2024 for his alleged participation in the illegal trade of blood diamonds that helped finance the civil war that ravaged Sierra Leone from 1991 to 2002. He is also suspected of complicity in international crimes committed at the end of the war by the Sierra Leonean rebel group Revolutionary United Front (RUF).
The suspect has not been formally charged and has been under provisional released after arrest, while the investigation phase is ongoing.
From at least the end of 1998 until at least 2002, Terrén allegedly traded, with the RUF, diamonds obtained through the enslavement of the civilian population in diamondiferous regions of Sierra Leone. The proceeds obtained through the forced labour of hundreds of people were brought to Monrovia, Liberia, and then sold on the international market.
In September 2021, with the support of Civitas Maxima and Center for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL – Sierra Leone), an individual who suffered and witnessed several crimes in Kono, one of the richest diamond regions in the country, filed a criminal complaint against Terrén before the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid. This individual is represented by lawyers Juan Garcés and Hernán Garcés.
The Audiencia Nacional is the Spanish High Court which has jurisdiction over international crimes. It is currently investigating the alleged participation of foreign actors in the illegal trade of blood diamonds between Sierra Leone, Liberia and some European countries during the civil war in Sierra Leone.
This case marks the first time a Spanish national is investigated for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed abroad, and the second time a European citizen has been arrested for acts related to the traffic of blood diamonds from Sierra Leone. In 2015, Michel Desaedeleer was arrested in Spain following a complaint filed in Belgium in 2011. The US-Belgian businessman died in detention in 2016 before he could be tried in Brussels.
