SA won't meddle in Zim 70 case

2004-05-24 20:38

Cape Town - South Africa on Monday said it would work for a fair trial for alleged mercenaries charged with plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea but will not interfere in the legal process until judgment has been delivered.

Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said Pretoria would not get involved in the case of 70 suspected soldiers of fortune detained in Zimbabwe and 14 others held in Equatorial Guinea until the courts had pronounced their verdicts, he said.

"Government will not entertain speculation regarding the possible outcomes of the trials since this may only help to pre-empt the judgements by the respective courts," Lekota told a media briefing in Cape Town.

"Only when judgement has been delivered will government engage with the process.

"Efforts are being made to bring the prisoners to court as soon as possible in the presence of international observers to ensure a free trial for the prisoners" he added.

Lawyers representing the alleged soldiers of fortune in Zimbabwe will go before the high court in Pretoria on Tuesday to try to force the government to help them.

The lawyers will argue that the government must take action to ensure that the 70 men are not extradited to Equatorial Guinea to face trial and a possible death penalty.

They will also ask that Pretoria seek to have the alleged mercenaries extradited to South Africa to face trial here.

Lekota said the South African government had not received any official notification of any proposal by Zimbabwe to extradite the 70 men to the oil-rich west African nation.

- AFP