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Eleven people have gone on trial in Burundi accused over the killing of albinos and the suspected sale of their limbs to witch doctors.
Eight of the defendants are charged with the murder of a young girl and man in March this year.
The trial is being held in the central African country's eastern Ruyigi province, where most of the killings took place.
Nicodeme Gahimbare, prosecuting, said: "There are four categories of people involved in trafficking albino organs: the clients who are in Tanzania, the go-betweens, the killers and the poor albinos, who are the victims.
"Those who are here in front of us are the executioners who committed these crimes, convinced they would earn 600m Burundian francs (£309,000) and become rich - but all they got was promises," he added.
Police believe albino body parts have been smuggled across the border into Tanzania to practice black magic.
Around 20 albinos, including children, attended the hearing at which the defendants pleaded not guilty.
At least 12 albinos have been murdered and mutilated in Burundi in the six months up to March this year.
In neighbouring Tanzania, more than 40 albinos have been killed since late 2007.
Albinism is a congenital lack of the melanin pigment in the skin, eyes and hair which protects against the sun's ultraviolet rays.
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Albinism is hereditary; it is not an infectious disease and cannot be transmitted through contact, blood transfusions, or other vectors. The principal gene which results in albinism prevents the body from making the usual amounts of the pigment melanin. Most forms of albinism are the result of the biological inheritance of genetically recessive alleles (genes) passed from both parents of an individual, though some rare forms are inherited from only one parent. There are other genetic mutations which are proven to be associated with albinism. All alterations, however, lead to changes in melanin production in the body.[1][2]
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