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.
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