The World Federation of Diamond Bourses has welcomed the release of Farai Mugawe, the Zimbawean diamond activist arrested by Harare authorities in early June.

"Mr. Mugawe's release is long overdue, but we are pleased that he no longer is being held," said WFDB President Avi Paz. "We hope that this paves the way for a breakthrough in the Kimberley Process, which will allow acceptance of the proposal that exports be allowed to resume from Zimbabwe's Marange region."

Paz and other members of the WFDB Executive Committee are currently attending the 34th World Diamond Congress in Moscow.

While there, they will attend a Kimberley Process Mini-Summit and the 7th Annual Meeting of the World Diamond Council. Paz has been closely involved in trying to break the impasse over Marange diamonds that occurred at the Kimberley Process Inter-Sessional Meeting in Tel Aviv in June.