Mercenary suspects trial could face delay

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s highest court will hear an appeal to bring back 70 suspected mercenaries detained in Zimbabwe on July 19, the same day their trial is scheduled to start in Harare, a lawyer said last week.

“We are going to try to have the trial date in Harare postponed to July 21,” lawyer Alwyn Griebenow told AFP. “The senior advocate and the other advocates will have to be in South Africa to attend the Constitutional Court hearing.”Families of the 70 suspected coup-plotters lost a high court bid in South Africa on June 9 to force Pretoria to seek the extradition of the men to South Africa.The families have now filed an urgent application for leave to appeal that ruling in the Constitutional Court.The 70 men were arrested in Harare on March 7 after taking off in a private plane from South Africa, allegedly en route to Equatorial Guinea to topple President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the long-time leader of the oil-rich country.The men deny the charges and maintain they were going to the Democratic Republic of Congo to guard a diamond mine.The alleged soldiers of fortune come from South Africa, Namibia and Angola but were all travelling on South African passports.”We are saying that because they are South African citizens, and because the (South African) government tipped off the authorities of Zimbabwe about their imminent arrival there – knowing they are unlikely to enjoy a fair trial and could face the death penalty – our government acted unconstitutionally by not getting an assurance that the death penalty will not be imposed,” Griebenow said when the application was filed on June 21.Members of the group face possible extradition to Equatorial Guinea, where they could be sentenced to death along with 15 other alleged mercenaries who have been arrested on similar charges in the capital, Malabo.- Nampa-AFP”The senior advocate and the other advocates will have to be in South Africa to attend the Constitutional Court hearing.”Families of the 70 suspected coup-plotters lost a high court bid in South Africa on June 9 to force Pretoria to seek the extradition of the men to South Africa.The families have now filed an urgent application for leave to appeal that ruling in the Constitutional Court.The 70 men were arrested in Harare on March 7 after taking off in a private plane from South Africa, allegedly en route to Equatorial Guinea to topple President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the long-time leader of the oil-rich country.The men deny the charges and maintain they were going to the Democratic Republic of Congo to guard a diamond mine.The alleged soldiers of fortune come from South Africa, Namibia and Angola but were all travelling on South African passports.”We are saying that because they are South African citizens, and because the (South African) government tipped off the authorities of Zimbabwe about their imminent arrival there – knowing they are unlikely to enjoy a fair trial and could face the death penalty – our government acted unconstitutionally by not getting an assurance that the death penalty will not be imposed,” Griebenow said when the application was filed on June 21.Members of the group face possible extradition to Equatorial Guinea, where they could be sentenced to death along with 15 other alleged mercenaries who have been arrested on similar charges in the capital, Malabo.- Nampa-AFP