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Jimmy Leach

Jimmy Leach is editorial director for digital for The Independent.

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Video: Tanzanian albinos targeted for their body parts

Posted by Jimmy Leach
  • Thursday, 26 February 2009 at 03:53 pm
Albinos in Dodoma in Tanzania are being targetted by criminals thanks to a burgeoning trade in their body parts. The albinos, who suffer from a lack of skin pigmentation, are believed by witch doctors to hold magical powers which makes their body parts valuable for use in medicine.

A severed arm or leg from an albino can reportedly fetch in the region of £1000, and while the law has changed to punish those involved in the attacks with the death penalty, the risk is still great enough that many albino children live in refuges to ensure their safety.
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