NZ man's death 'not natural'

2005-04-14 11:31

Wellington - A New Zealand man accused of being a mercenary didn't die of natural causes last week after being captured by rebels in the Ivory Coast, his family said on Thursday.

An autopsy on Hamish Sands was carried out by a pathologist in the commercial capital Abidjan early this week after his captors - a guerrilla group known as the New Force - released his body. Sand's sister, Catherine Sands-Wearing, said the family received the autopsy report.

"The report confirms that Hamish's death was not from natural causes," she said in a statement. "The report is inconclusive about whether his death was self-inflicted or caused by others. The family wishes that nothing further be said publicly about the circumstances of Hamish's death, or any other related matters."

No immediate comment was available from the New Zealand government.

Sands, 36, died after being transferred to a rebel prison in Korhogo from the guerrilla stronghold of Bouake, where he had been held since March 11 over allegations he was a mercenary working for the Ivory Coast government.

Rebels who seized Sands said he had body armour, satellite navigation equipment, and telephone numbers of government loyalist politicians and international mercenary companies. They accused him of being sent to kill rebel leaders - a claim Sands and his family rejected.

The Ivory Coast government also denied the rebel claims, saying it doesn't hire mercenaries.

A rebel spokesperson said last month the guerrillas had no intention of killing Sands. After his death, the New Force said it supported a "transparent" autopsy to determine why he died.

Ivory Coast plunged into civil war after a failed September 2002 coup attempt.

- AP