Zimbabwe is finalizing charges against more than 60 suspected mercenaries detained this week in what officials say was a plot to overthrow the government of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, prosecutors said on Thursday.
Acting Attorney General Bharat Patel said the men would probably not appear in court until yesterday and that "the relevant law enforcement agencies" were drawing up charges.
"They are not going to appear in court today, as far as I'm aware ... The likelihood is that they'll appear in court tomorrow, if not tomorrow then soon thereafter," Patel told state radio.
Zimbabwean lawyer Jonathan Samkange said he had been hired by a firm of South African attorneys to represent the suspects, and would be meeting his clients on Friday.
"I have already talked to the police ... and I will be going to see my clients tomorrow to take instructions. I have been assured the suspects are going to enjoy their constitutional rights to fair treatment and a fair hearing," Samkange said.
Patel said charges against the group were likely to include contravening the Civil Aviation Act and that "there may also be other charges relating to the Firearms Act, possibly also in relation to our immigration laws."
Zimbabwe's foreign minister said on Wednesday the men, who were arrested on Sunday after the US-registered Boeing 727 landed in Harare, could face a possible death penalty, although none of the charges listed by Patel would bring that sentence.
Officials said the men had implicated the British, American and Spanish spy agencies in a plot to topple President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil producer.
US and Spanish officials have denied any involvement, while Britain's Foreign Office declined comment.
The seized plane's operator, based in Britain's Channel Islands, has said it was flying the men to the Democratic Republic of Congo to provide security for mining operations.
Zimbabwe has identified the men, who are both black and white, as coming from South Africa, Angola, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and one from Zimbabwe.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
North Korea has detained another official over last week’s failed launch of a warship, which damaged the naval destroyer, state media reported yesterday. Pyongyang announced “a serious accident” at Wednesday last week’s launch ceremony, which crushed sections of the bottom of the new destroyer. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the mishap a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness.” Ri Hyong-son, vice department director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Party Central Committee, was summoned and detained on Sunday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He was “greatly responsible for the occurrence of the serious accident,” it said. Ri is the fourth person
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
RSS