Closing arguments in Zimbabwe mercenary trial

[seemslikeadream]

By Stella Mapenzauswa
REUTERS
6:19 a.m. August 20, 2004

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Suspected mercenaries accused of plotting to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea were found lying on a plane floor trying to avoid detection, the prosecution said in its closing arguments Friday.


Sixty-six people are charged with illegally trying to "possess or acquire" a slew of weapons, including assault rifles, hand grenades, anti-tank missiles and mortar bombs.


They face up to 10 years in jail if convicted. State prosecutor Lawrence Phiri said the men's behavior when the plane arrived in Harare suggested they were following instructions written on a document found in the plane.


"The manner in which the accused were recruited in South Africa was suspect because they were recruited over the phone by a man they did not know. ... That can only be consistent with mercenary recruitment or military recruitment," he said.


The group's leader Simon Mann, a former member of Britain's special services, pleaded guilty to attempting to possess dangerous weapons, but rejected a second charge of purchasing weapons, saying the deal never went through.

more
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20040820-0619-zimbabwe-mercenaries.html

[BlackJack8324]

1. I doubt we'll see Amnesty Intl

Get involved in this, these guys are white non-Muslims.

[seemslikeadream]

2. Not exactly all white non-Muslims

Seventy suspected mercenaries walk to their first court appearance in Chikurubi maximum security prison in the Zimbabwean capital Harare on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
Mercenaries were after Taylor: report
Alleged mercenaries facing charges of trying to topple the president of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea were actually on a mission to abduct former Liberian president Charles Taylor from Nigeria, a newspaper has reported.

This Day, quoting sources close to some of the South African nationals among the 70 presumed soldiers of fortune detained in Zimbabwe, said their objective was not to topple Equatorial Guinea's long-serving President Teodoro Obiang Nguema but to deliver Taylor to a special war crimes court in Sierra Leone.

Fifteen other presumed soldiers of fortune have been detained in Equatorial Guinea on charges of trying to oust Mr Nguema. One of the men has since died of cerebral malaria.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/24/1079939716746.html?oneclick=true

and on edit who knows just exactly what they were doing?