Zim adds terrorism charge

2004-03-20 19:13

Harare - Zimbabwean police on Saturday slapped a sixth charge of "conspiring to commit international terrorism" on 70 suspected mercenaries linked to an alleged coup plot in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, their lawyer said.

Defence lawyer Jonathan Samkange said the police were charging the men with "contravening a UN (United Nations) resolution 1373 (2001) and UN resolution 1456 (2003)".

The move came as the country's acting attorney general Bharat Patel told the government-run news agency Ziana that the state wanted the men to be tried in a top security Harare prison, which is being vehemently opposed by the defence.

"We have no problems with members of the public and press attending, except we want the hearing to take place in prison," ZianaA quoted Patel as saying.

The charge sheet filed against each of the detainees on Saturday reads in part "from June 2003 and 7 March 2004 in the republic of South Africa, I conspired and agreed with 69 others to oust the president of Equatorial Guinea... from power in a coup d'etat."

Outside the scope of Zim law

Samkange has said the 70 cannot be charged for international terrorism because it falls outside the scope of Zimbabwean laws.

The accused have been linked to 15 alleged soldiers of fortune detained in Equatorial Guinea, one of whom has died due to cerebral malaria, according to authorities in Malabo.

"What this boils down to is that they don't have any charges against these men," defence lawyer Samkange said.

So far the accumulated charges against the 70 men are:

conspiring to possess weapons of war,

conspiring to murder the president of Equatorial Guinea and his bodyguards,

possession of weaponry,

violating Zimbabwe's immigration laws and

attempting to overthrow a foreign government.

The men were detained on March 7 after their plane was impounded at Harare International Airport, allegedly on its way to Equatorial Guinea where Harare says they were planning to stage a coup.

Zimbabwe security authorities say the men stopped in Harare to pick up weapons including AK-47 assault rifles, rocket launchers, hand grenades and ammunition to be used in the alleged putsch.

But the accused say they were hired in South Africa to be security guards on a diamond mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

- AFP