Alert 4th Apr 2017 - Protest Sotheby's Blood Diamonds - Complicity In Samouni Family Massacre

On 4th April 2017, Inminds human rights group will protest outside Sotheby's in London to highlight the bloody connection between the 59.6-carat Pink Star diamond, formally known as the Steinmetz Pink, that is being auctioned at Sotheby's Hong Kong on the same day, and the massacre of 29 members of the Samouni family of Gaza in 2009. Inminds will demand Sotheby's end its partnership with Diacore, formally known as Steinmetz Diamond Group, and pay reparations to the survivors of the massacre.

The Pink Star diamond was cut and polished by the Steinmetz Diamond Group which, through the Steinmetz Foundation, funded and supported the notorious Givati Brigade of the Israeli army during Operation Cast Lead. The Givati Brigade stands accused of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The Givati Brigade is responsible for the massacre of the Samouni family in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. Eight years ago, on 4th January 2009 the Givati Brigade rounded up 100 members of the Samouni family and ordered them into the house of Wa'el Samouni. The house was then bombed, and rescue services were prevented from approaching for four days, with ambulances being fired on. When rescue workers were finally allowed access, they found buried beneath the rubble, traumatised children besides the corpses of their parents and siblings. The Givati had massacred 29 family members and in case anyone mistook their intent they left a message on one of the remaining walls of the house, daubed in Hebrew it read "The only good Arab is a dead Arab".

The Steinmetz Foundation’s website boasted of "adopting" a unit of the Givati brigade, of "fostering close relationships with the commanders and their soldiers", of "buying equipment " for them specifically during Operation Cast Lead, that is, during their slaughter of the Samouni family.

All references were however deleted from their website once it came to public attention. Before and after screenshots of their website are included on the Inminds website and leaflets.

The surviving members of the Samouni family in a video appeal have directly asked people in the UK to reject diamonds from the Steinmetz company, and hence reject diamonds from Sotheby's Diamonds.

Sotheby's Diamonds was created as a partnership between Steinmetz Diamonds Group (now called Diacore) and Sotheby's.

Inminds chair Abbas Ali said "Sotheby's through its partnership with Steinmetz is fully complicit in Israeli war crimes, in particular the massacre of the Samouni family. Whilst the survivors of the massacre are suffering in Gaza, which lacks adequate medical facilities after 10 years of siege, Sotheby's are busy focused on profiting from peddling blood diamonds. Its predicted that the Pink Star will sell for $80 million, how much of that will go towards relieving the suffering of the Samouni family? We are here to demand Sotheby's live up to its corporate responsibility and end its blood diamond business with Steinmetz and pay reparations to the victims!"

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