Zim court denies Briton bail in E.Guinea case

HARARE – A Zimbabwe court yesterday denied bail to a former British special forces officer fighting extradition to Equatorial Guinea to face coup plot charges in the oil-rich West African state.

On Wednesday Simon Mann was arrested under an immigration warrant for deportation after completing a jail term imposed in 2004. He had been found guilty of trying to purchase weapons without a licence as part of a plot against Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.His lawyer, Jonathan Samkange, said Mann was released but immediately detained at Chikurubi Maximum Security prison – the same jail where he served his sentence.Yesterday, Harare magistrate Omega Mugumbate – who said Mann may not leave Zimbabwe before his case is heard by the High Court – refused to grant the Briton bail.”The court is of the view that the applicant is not a suitable candidate for bail,” she said.Samkange had argued that Mann deserved bail while awaiting the outcome of his extradition appeal because he had shown good behaviour, which saw a third of his sentence commuted, and that he required urgent private medical attention.Mugumbate has already ruled that 54-year-old Mann could be extradited to the West African country to face coup plot charges, rejecting arguments that he would not receive a fair trial and could be tortured.Equatorial Guinea Attorney General Jose Ole Obono has assured the court that Mann – believed by his government to be the “intellectual head” of the coup plot – would get justice.Sixty-six other defendants arrested with Mann after their plane stopped in Harare served less than one year in jail after pleading guilty to charges of violating Zimbabwe’s immigration and civil aviation laws.Harare was said to be the first stop of a planned strike on Equatorial Guinea, Africa’s third biggest oil producer.Eleven others, including a number of foreigners, are serving sentences ranging from 13 to 34 years in an Equatorial Guinea jail in connection with the coup plot.Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark, accused of helping to fund the foiled coup, pleaded guilty to taking part but cut a deal with prosecutors in South Africa, where he lived, to avoid jail.Nampa-ReutersHe had been found guilty of trying to purchase weapons without a licence as part of a plot against Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.His lawyer, Jonathan Samkange, said Mann was released but immediately detained at Chikurubi Maximum Security prison – the same jail where he served his sentence.Yesterday, Harare magistrate Omega Mugumbate – who said Mann may not leave Zimbabwe before his case is heard by the High Court – refused to grant the Briton bail.”The court is of the view that the applicant is not a suitable candidate for bail,” she said.Samkange had argued that Mann deserved bail while awaiting the outcome of his extradition appeal because he had shown good behaviour, which saw a third of his sentence commuted, and that he required urgent private medical attention.Mugumbate has already ruled that 54-year-old Mann could be extradited to the West African country to face coup plot charges, rejecting arguments that he would not receive a fair trial and could be tortured.Equatorial Guinea Attorney General Jose Ole Obono has assured the court that Mann – believed by his government to be the “intellectual head” of the coup plot – would get justice.Sixty-six other defendants arrested with Mann after their plane stopped in Harare served less than one year in jail after pleading guilty to charges of violating Zimbabwe’s immigration and civil aviation laws.Harare was said to be the first stop of a planned strike on Equatorial Guinea, Africa’s third biggest oil producer.Eleven others, including a number of foreigners, are serving sentences ranging from 13 to 34 years in an Equatorial Guinea jail in connection with the coup plot.Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark, accused of helping to fund the foiled coup, pleaded guilty to taking part but cut a deal with prosecutors in South Africa, where he lived, to avoid jail.Nampa-Reuters