BACKGROUND BRIEFING
Bushmen court case
The Bushmen won an historic legal victory on December 13, 2006. This media kit contains the full text of the court's ruling together with background information, photos and videos about the case.
Images from the High Court in Lobatse
Images from the High Court in Lobatse as the verdict is announced
Final court ruling
Microsoft Word document, 400 pages, 1.1MB 
The full text of the ruling from the High Court in Lobatse, Botswana. This document has been scanned and the text digitally recognised: there may be some conversion errors.
Summary of the issues
Microsoft Word document, 2 pages.
An overview of the main issues in the court case, prepared by Gordon Bennett, the Bushmen's attorney.
Biography of Bushman Roy Sesana
Microsoft Word document, 1 page.
A biography of Roy Sesana, a Gana Bushman from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana and President of the First People of the Kalahari (FPK), the Bushman organisation. Mr Sesana is the lead applicant in the case.
Biography of Bushmen witnesses and their expert witnesses
Microsoft Word document, 4 pages.
An outline of the main Bushman witnesses with brief biographies and descriptions of their testimony.
Biography of Gordon Bennett
Microsoft Word document, 2 pages.
A biography of Gordon Bennett, the Bushmen's attorney.
Legal precedents
Microsoft Word document, 2 pages.
The rights that indigenous people have under international law are partly a product of rulings given in many legal cases around the world. Each of these test cases has contributed to what is a continuously evolving area of international law. This document outlines some of the most important cases in recent decades.
The court case in numbers
Microsoft Word document, 1 page.
Summary of events
Microsoft Word document, 4 pages.
A summary of events affecting the Bushmen during the main phase of the court case.
In Memoriam
Microsoft Word document, 1 page.
12% of the original applicants have died waiting for the court's judgement. This is a list of their names.
Image gallery
Downloadable JPEGs
Images from the court case, including witness portraits, are available to download from the image gallery.
Court case video clip
DV file, 3 mins
Arthur Albertson, expert witness for the Bushmen, prepares to take the stand; the Bushmen's attorneys Gordon Bennett and Duma Boko confer outside the court during a recess; Bennett and Boko in discussion with Sidney Pilane, government attorney.
For access to the source DV files for broadcast, please contact us.
Court case video clip 2
DV file, 1 min
Bushman witnesses and a representative of Norway's Saami people during a break in hearings in the New Xade relocation camp.
For access to the source DV files for broadcast, please contact us.
Gope test mine video clip
DV file, 15 secs
Drilling rig and infrastructure at De Beers's test mine at Gope, a Bushman community inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
For access to the source DV files for broadcast, please contact us.
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