Lawyers for most of the 70 men held in Zimbabwe on charges of plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea said they would plead not guilty to breaching Zimbabwe’s firearms and security laws on Wednesday, SABC radio news reports. On Tuesday, 67 of the men pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were quickly convicted.
The French news agency, AFP, reported that the real question is whether Zimbabwe will extradite the 70 men to Equatorial Guinea where they could face the death penalty or a long sentence in Malabo’s notoriously harsh prisons.
President Robert Mugabe’s government has already amended its extradition laws to allow the transfer to Equatorial Guinea of suspects wanted there for trial.
The 67 men were on board a plane that stopped over in Zimbabwe on March 7 to pick up weapons from the state arms manufacturer that they claim were to be used to guard a diamond mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The men were arrested along with three others who were awaiting them at Harare airport and they were accused of plotting to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea.
All 70 suspected soldiers of fortune were to enter a plea to separate charges of violating firearm and security legislation when the trial resumes on Wednesday in Chikurubi prison, on the outskirts of Harare.
A conviction under immigration and aviation laws carries a small fine or a short prison term. But the charges of breaching Zimbabwe’s firearms and security laws could lead to a 10-year jail term. – Sapa