Mann not suitable for bail - Zim court

Published May 10, 2007

Share

Harare - Briton Simon Mann was denied bail by a Zimbabwean court on Thursday pending an appeal against his extradition to Equatorial Guinea to face coup plot charges.

"The court is of the view that the applicant is not suitable for bail," ruled magistrate Omega Mugumbate.

"The court thus declines to grant the application."

Mugumbate gave a guarantee that Mann would not be sent to the west African country before the finalisation of his appeal against her judgement of Wednesday granting the extradition.

Mann, who was believed to be suffering from a hernia and hip problems, was awaiting permission from Zimbabwe's justice minister to undergo an operation.

He completes a four-year jail term in a Harare maximum security prison this week on arms charges related to an alleged plot to overthrow oil-rich Equatorial Guinea's long-serving ruler, Teodoro Obiang Nguema.

Prosecutor Joseph Jagada assured the court that Mann was still in Zimbabwe, saying: "He will not go anywhere else outside this jurisdiction."

Mann's lawyer Jonathan Samkange said he would seek Jagada's arrest on contempt of court charges if he found this to be untrue.

The Eton-educated Mann, a former SAS commando member, was arrested with 61 others when their plane landed at Harare international airport in March 2004.

They were accused of stopping off to pick up weapons from Harare while on their way to Malabo to oust Nguema, who has ruled Equatorial Guinea with an iron fist since 1979.

Mann said he and his co-accused were on their way to the Democratic Republic of Congo and needed the weapons for a security contract at a mine.

He was sentenced to seven years in jail, but the term was later reduced. Most of his co-accused were released from a Zimbabwean prison in 2005.

Mark Thatcher, the multi-millionaire son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, was arrested in South Africa in August 2004, pleaded guilty to unwittingly helping finance the coup plot, and was fined.

Related Topics: