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Old Etonian put on trial accused of plotting Africa coup
Rashid Razaq, Evening Standard17 Jun 2008
Former SAS officer Simon Mann was on trial for his life today, accused of plotting to overthrow a West African dictator.
The Old Etonian faces a court in Equatorial Guinea where he is alleged to have been the leader of a failed coup against president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in 2004.
Mann, 55, who is being held in the notorious Black Beach prison, where prisoners have been tortured and starved, has confessed to his part in the conspiracy.
The trial in the capital Malabo will be Mann's first court appearance since being extradited secretly from Zimbabwe in February. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
Foreign Office officials and an African Union judge will be at the trial, which Mr Obiang has insisted will be fair and transparent. The leader of the tiny oil-rich state has also indicated he may opt for clemency because of Mann's cooperation.
Mann, was arrested with around 70 other people, mostly former soldiers, when their aircraft arrived at an airport in the Zimbabwean capital Harare in March 2004.
They had been trying to collect weapons and equipment bought from Zimbabwe's state arms maker, and insisted they were on their way to guard mining facilities in the Congo, even though they were found with uniforms identical to those of Mr Obiang's presidential guard.
Sir Mark Thatcher, the son of Baroness Thatcher, was given a fouryear suspended sentence in South Africa for "unwittingly" financing a helicopter that was used by the plotters. President Obiang has also accused Ely Calil, a London-based businessman with a £100 million fortune and a friend of Peter Mandelson, of masterminding the coup with Sir Mark.
In an interview with Channel 4, Mr Obiang said of Mann: "He is revealing very important information on a daily basis which we did not know a year ago. We are not the one to decide the level of co-operation. That's up to the judges. If they do think co-operation has been good enough there might be clemency shown at the end of the case."
The head of state, who seized power in a military coup in 1979, accused Calil of "trying his very best to ensure he either kills him (Mann) or kidnaps him from prison. He doesn't want Simon Mann to continue revealing issues or charges which can be levelled against him."
President Obiang also attacked Sir Mark, saying he was "known as dirty player who lives his life getting himself involved in all sorts of dubious deals that are of benefit to himself ".
Mann has been placed under special guard in prison and his food is being checked for poison before he eats it. Fears of an assassination attempt have extended to journalists and observers being told they must enter court only in flip-flops and short sleeves, without watches and pens.
Asked if Mann would serve out any sentence in Britain, MrObiang said: "It depends on the negotiations that we will have with the British Government because the criminal act happened here and the trial is taking place here."
