Malabo - A South African arms dealer , who could face death if convicted of an alleged plot to overthrow the president of Equatorial Guinea, told a court on Thursday he and his comrades had been chained like animals and tortured into confessing.
Equatorial Guinea's state prosecutor demanded the death penalty for Nick du Toit and decades in jail for 13 other suspected foreign mercenaries.
But in a dramatic final day of submissions in a trial that began in August, the defendants stood up in chains and handcuffs to plead their innocence.
"No weapons, no arms, no explosives were found on us," Du Toit said.
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"We have done nothing wrong. Since our arrest, we have been chained like wild animals. We have been tortured by the police. There hasn't been any coup attempt."
State Prosecutor Jose Olo Obono rejected any allegations of mistreatment, saying all prisoners' rights had been respected.
"Any statement to the contrary is not admissible in this trial," he told the court.
After closing arguments on Thursday the fate of the eight alleged South African mercenaries and their co-accused is now in the balance with the very real threat of every man spending the rest of his life in prison.
On Thursday the men shuffled to the front of the courtroom in Atepa International Convention Centre constrained by their leg-irons, and one by one pleaded to the judge for their lives. Judgment is set to be delivered next Friday.
First to enter the courtroom was Jose Domingos, one of the naturalised South African Angolans, followed by Mark Smit, the youngest of the group, who was brought in at the last minute to work as a cook.
Some have visibly lost weight since a month ago. Most were wearing shorts, T-shirts and sandals with the eight South Africans and six Armenians still in handcuffs and leg irons.
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