afrol News, 1 February - Zimbabwean authorities have deported Simon Mann, the British accused of masterminding a foiled coup in Equatorial Guinea where he is expected to appear before a court in Malabo, his lawyer, Jonathan Samkange, disclosed.

Samkange said the deportation was effected on Wednesday night Mann had been deported on Wednesday night.

"They deported him at night, late on Wednesday night. There are affidavits to that effect," he said.

"The idea was that by the time we filed a notice of appeal he would have gone. This was designed to defeat the notice of our appeal. Deporting a person at night is not only mischievous, but unlawful."

The former SAS officer in Britain, who was jailed in Zimbabwe on arms charges in 2004, was re-arrested after he was release in May 2007. Mann was detained after his plane landed in Zimbabwe from the neighbouring South Africa.

Zimbabwean authorities accused him of gathering arms to support a coup against Equatorial Guinea's government.

Other convicts of the same crime [South Africans and Angolans} were released after serving their jail term.

The son of the ex-British Prime Minister, Sir Mark Thatcher, who had been accused of helping to finance the coup, was fined and handed a suspended sentence in South Africa.

However, other suspects were convicted in Equatorial Guinea. They included a South African, Nick du Toit, who was jailed for 34 years in prison.

Mann's extradition followed the rejection of an appeal by the High Court. His lawyers feared that he could be tortured.

The Zimbabwean government is yet to confirm or deny Mann's extradition. But his lawyer said he was surprised to be told the news when he visited the prison on Friday morning.

The government of Equatorial Guinea have ruled out a death penalty against Mann, promising to give him a fair trial.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories