ZIMBABWE AGREES TO EXTRADITE MANN !
Mann was due to be released on good behaviour this month. A Zimbabwe court has agreed to the extradition to Equatorial Guinea of the British leader of alleged mercenaries.
Simon Mann is accused of being the mastermind of a plot to overthrow Equatorial Guinea's president in 2004.
His lawyers have appealed, arguing he will not be given a fair trial and could face torture. Mann will remain in custody until an appeal verdict.
The former SAS officer was arrested and jailed in Zimbabwe for apparently trying to buy arms as part of the plot.
Unfair treatment
Mann, who has been serving a four-year prison term in Zimbabwe for buying weapons without a licence, was due for early release this month for good behaviour.
Correspondents say he was not at Wednesday's court hearing.
More than 60 men arrested with him - most of them South African citizens of Angolan origin - were released in 2005 after serving a year's sentence in Zimbabwe.
They flew to Zimbabwe from South Africa to pick up the weapons and were allegedly on their way to Equatorial Guinea to meet another group involved in the plot, when both groups were arrested.
Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former UK Prime Minister now Baroness Thatcher, was fined and received a suspended sentence in South Africa for his involvement in the affair.
The relatives of those being held in Equatorial Guinea have complained of abuse and unfair treatment.
One suspect, a German, died in prison after what Amnesty International said was torture.
Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony, has been ruled by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema since he seized power from his uncle in a coup in 1979.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Simon Mann is accused of being the mastermind of a plot to overthrow Equatorial Guinea's president in 2004.
His lawyers have appealed, arguing he will not be given a fair trial and could face torture. Mann will remain in custody until an appeal verdict.
The former SAS officer was arrested and jailed in Zimbabwe for apparently trying to buy arms as part of the plot.
Unfair treatment
Mann, who has been serving a four-year prison term in Zimbabwe for buying weapons without a licence, was due for early release this month for good behaviour.
Correspondents say he was not at Wednesday's court hearing.
More than 60 men arrested with him - most of them South African citizens of Angolan origin - were released in 2005 after serving a year's sentence in Zimbabwe.
They flew to Zimbabwe from South Africa to pick up the weapons and were allegedly on their way to Equatorial Guinea to meet another group involved in the plot, when both groups were arrested.
Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former UK Prime Minister now Baroness Thatcher, was fined and received a suspended sentence in South Africa for his involvement in the affair.
The relatives of those being held in Equatorial Guinea have complained of abuse and unfair treatment.
One suspect, a German, died in prison after what Amnesty International said was torture.
Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony, has been ruled by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema since he seized power from his uncle in a coup in 1979.
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