Freed slave to be compensated

A West African regional court ordered Niger to pay compensation to a woman who was sold into slavery at age 12 and held for a decade. It ruled that the country had failed to implement its anti-slavery laws.

Hadijatou Mani, now 24, has testified that she was forced to work as a domestic servant and sexual slave until 2005, when her former master freed her in an apparent bid to legalize his relationship with her as his wife.

West Africa has a long history of slavery, and the practice persists in some places. Many countries have stepped up anti-slavery legislation and enforcement in recent years. Niger banned slavery in 2003.