Alleged mercenaries appear briefly in court

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=qw1122022080593B263

Four of eight South Africans suspected of involvement in a planned coup d'etat in Equatorial Guinea appeared briefly in the Pretoria regional court on Friday. snip

The matter was then postponed to January 16 next year, when the men are to go on trial with four co-accused.

They are part of a group of 61 who returned to South Africa in May after spending more than a year in a Zimbabwean prison for violating that country's immigration, aviation, firearms and security laws.

The charges were related to an alleged plot to topple the government of Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. snip

Mark Thatcher, the son of former United Kingdom prime minister Margaret Thatcher, paid a fine after being charged in South Africa for allegedly financing the plot.

[donkeyotay]

1. Wow. They're really getting tough on crime!

Mark Thatcher, the son of former United Kingdom prime minister Margaret Thatcher, paid a fine after being charged in South Africa for allegedly financing the plot.

That'll teach him.