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Zim court hearing delayed
19/03/2004 14:36 - (SA)
Harare, Zimbabwe - The first court appearance of 67 suspected mercenaries and their three-man flight crew was postponed a second time Friday because of a dispute over the venue, their lawyers said.
Citing security concerns, state prosecutors are demanding that the hearing be held behind closed doors at the maximum security prison outside Harare where they are being held, said defence attorney Jonathan Samkange.
"We don't accept that," he said. "Zimbabwe has ample security to bring them to court. We need a public trial, not a secret one."
Samkange threatened to go to the High Court to seek an order forcing authorities to try the men at the Harare magistrate's court.
The group, accused of plotting a coup in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, have been in detention since their ageing Boeing 727 landed at Harare International Airport on March 8.
They had been expected in court on Wednesday, but authorities needed more time to finalise the charges against them. These were concluded late on Thursday.
The five charges include allegations of conspiring to kill Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Ngeuma and his bodyguards, as well as conspiring to acquire weapons for an insurgency or terrorism.
Charges have also been brought under Zimbabwe's immigration and firearms laws, as well as a colonial-era law banning activities of "foreign subversive organisations."
Authorities say the men made a false declaration concerning the number of passengers aboard the plane and its final destination.
No weapons were found on the aircraft. But three of the suspects, who were at the airport to meet the plane, are accused of trying to purchase weapons from the state arms manufacturer, Zimbabwe Defence Industries.
The murder charge carries the death penalty, but defence attorneys have questioned whether Zimbabwe has jurisdiction over an alleged conspiracy in another country
Zimbabwe investigators allege that Spanish-based rebel leader Severo Moto offered the suspects $1.8m and oil rights to overthrow the government in Equatorial Guinea. Fifteen suspected mercenaries were also arrested in that country last week.
The suspects say they were headed to eastern Congo to provide security at mining operations.
Most of those arrested - including South Africans, Namibians, Angolans, Congolese and one Zimbabwean travelling on a South African passport - were members of apartheid-era South African military units.
- AP
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