South African "mercenaries" begin court action
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Seventy suspected South African mercenaries have begun a high court action demanding their government prevent their extradition from Zimbabwe to Equatorial Guinea, their lawyer says.
The group have been held in a high security prison in Zimbabwe since March, when they were seized along with their plane on suspicion of plotting to topple President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of tiny oil-rich Equatorial Guinea.
Their lawyer, Alwyn Griebenow, wrote letters to President Thabo Mbeki and senior members of his cabinet this week giving them until Wednesday morning to respond to their demands or face high court action.
"We have had no response. We have issued papers in court. We are serving on them now in the Pretoria High Court," Griebenow told Reuters by telephone from Pretoria on Wednesday morning.
"What we are requiring firstly is that they, as a matter of extreme urgency, consult with the Zimbabwean government and ask either for the release or extradition of our men back to South Africa," Griebenow said.
"We're asking them to get an undertaking that they will not be extradited to Equatorial Guinea."
Griebenow, who complained in his letter that the men were being denied basic human rights in Zimbabwe, said he also wanted Pretoria to seek assurances from Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea that they would not be tortured or face the death penalty, which South Africa has abolished.
The 70 men detained in Zimbabwe mostly hail from South Africa, Angola and Namibia, but all are South African citizens.
They are accused of plotting to overthrow Obiang along with a smaller group of men -- including South Africans -- arrested around the same time in Equatorial Guinea.
The suspects deny the charges, saying they were heading to the Democratic Republic of Congo to guard mining operations.
Zimbabwe has added Equatorial Guinea to its extradition legislation in apparent preparation to send the 70 for trial in Equatorial Guinea, where their lawyers and human rights groups say they will not get a fair trial.
South African lawyers representing the group being held in Equatorial Guinea said on Wednesday that a delegation including the attorney general of the oil-rich country had visited South Africa this week to meet counterparts from the foreign ministry and other officials.
Lawyer Bernhard van der Hoven told Reuters that even after the meeting he remained concerned his clients would not get a fair trial in Equatorial Guinea, where human rights groups have denounced widespread abuse of Obiang's opponents.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Seventy suspected South African mercenaries have begun a high court action demanding their government prevent their extradition from Zimbabwe to Equatorial Guinea, their lawyer says.
The group have been held in a high security prison in Zimbabwe since March, when they were seized along with their plane on suspicion of plotting to topple President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of tiny oil-rich Equatorial Guinea.
Their lawyer, Alwyn Griebenow, wrote letters to President Thabo Mbeki and senior members of his cabinet this week giving them until Wednesday morning to respond to their demands or face high court action.
"We have had no response. We have issued papers in court. We are serving on them now in the Pretoria High Court," Griebenow told Reuters by telephone from Pretoria on Wednesday morning.
"What we are requiring firstly is that they, as a matter of extreme urgency, consult with the Zimbabwean government and ask either for the release or extradition of our men back to South Africa," Griebenow said.
"We're asking them to get an undertaking that they will not be extradited to Equatorial Guinea."
Griebenow, who complained in his letter that the men were being denied basic human rights in Zimbabwe, said he also wanted Pretoria to seek assurances from Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea that they would not be tortured or face the death penalty, which South Africa has abolished.
The 70 men detained in Zimbabwe mostly hail from South Africa, Angola and Namibia, but all are South African citizens.
They are accused of plotting to overthrow Obiang along with a smaller group of men -- including South Africans -- arrested around the same time in Equatorial Guinea.
The suspects deny the charges, saying they were heading to the Democratic Republic of Congo to guard mining operations.
Zimbabwe has added Equatorial Guinea to its extradition legislation in apparent preparation to send the 70 for trial in Equatorial Guinea, where their lawyers and human rights groups say they will not get a fair trial.
South African lawyers representing the group being held in Equatorial Guinea said on Wednesday that a delegation including the attorney general of the oil-rich country had visited South Africa this week to meet counterparts from the foreign ministry and other officials.
Lawyer Bernhard van der Hoven told Reuters that even after the meeting he remained concerned his clients would not get a fair trial in Equatorial Guinea, where human rights groups have denounced widespread abuse of Obiang's opponents.
publicado por MP às 13:06
