Thatcher called to the stand

CAPE TOWN – Former british prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark has been subpoenaed to formally answer accusations he helped to finance a coup plot in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, his lawyer said yesterday.

“We have received a subpoena to appear in court on September 22… The questions apparently emanate from Equatorial Guinea,” lawyer Alan Bruce-Brand said. Thatcher, 51, was arrested in Cape Town on August 25 on charges of contravening South Africa’s anti-mercenary Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act, which outlaws civilian involvement in military activity outside its borders.Equatorial Guinea has asked South Africa to put questions to Thatcher as part of a widening investigation into a suspected coup plot against president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Africa’s third largest oil producer.Thatcher has denied any involvement in the plot.He has posted US$300 000 bail and is under orders to remain in the Cape Town area pending a November 25 court appearance, and from tomorrow must report daily to police.A magistrate said on Tuesday Thatcher would be expected to answer the questions in open court.Equatorial Guinea, which would be allowed to observe the proceedings, has said it may seek to extradite Thatcher to face charges along with 14 other suspected foreign mercenaries already on trial in Malabo.Obiang has accused foreign nations and firms of trying to remove him.He has ruled the tiny state sandwiched between Gabon and Cameroon since seizing power in 1979.A court in Zimbabwe last month convicted Simon Mann, a former British special forces officer and friend of Thatcher, on weapons charges.He had been held in Harare in connection with the suspected coup plot.- Nampa-ReutersThatcher, 51, was arrested in Cape Town on August 25 on charges of contravening South Africa’s anti-mercenary Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act, which outlaws civilian involvement in military activity outside its borders.Equatorial Guinea has asked South Africa to put questions to Thatcher as part of a widening investigation into a suspected coup plot against president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Africa’s third largest oil producer.Thatcher has denied any involvement in the plot.He has posted US$300 000 bail and is under orders to remain in the Cape Town area pending a November 25 court appearance, and from tomorrow must report daily to police.A magistrate said on Tuesday Thatcher would be expected to answer the questions in open court.Equatorial Guinea, which would be allowed to observe the proceedings, has said it may seek to extradite Thatcher to face charges along with 14 other suspected foreign mercenaries already on trial in Malabo.Obiang has accused foreign nations and firms of trying to remove him.He has ruled the tiny state sandwiched between Gabon and Cameroon since seizing power in 1979.A court in Zimbabwe last month convicted Simon Mann, a former British special forces officer and friend of Thatcher, on weapons charges.He had been held in Harare in connection with the suspected coup plot.- Nampa-Reuters