There was still no word on Tuesday afternoon whether 62 South African alleged mercenaries being held in Zimbabwe will be released, the South African embassy there said.
”We have not heard anything yet. There is no confirmation whether they will be released,” an official said.
The men’s sentences expire on Tuesday. They were convicted of breaching Zimbabwe’s aviation, immigration, firearms and security laws.
Their lawyer, Alwyn Griebenow, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday afternoon.
He earlier said from Harare that he is hopeful the men will be released before the end of the day.
”We don’t have confirmation, but we hope they will be released.”
Griebenow was expected to meet his corresponding attorney at Chikurubi maximum-security prison outside Harare, where the men are being held.
A family member of one the 62 visited the men on Monday.
”They are all cautiously optimistic that they would be set free today [Tuesday],” said Griebenow.
By Monday, he had heard nothing from Zimbabwe’s prison authorities about the release.
”We wrote a formal letter through the South African embassy asking if they would be released, but we have received no reply,” he said.
The letter was written more than 10 days ago, Griebenow said.
The men have spent more than 12 months in prison.
They are still awaiting the outcome of an appeal lodged by Zimbabwe’s Attorney General, Sobuza Gula-Ndebele, against a reduction of their sentences that would have seen the men released in early March.
Zimbabwean court officials confirmed on March 2 that the men were scheduled for immediate release after a successful appeal to the high court for a reduction of their sentences.
A week later, with all the paperwork completed, their lawyer and families waited in vain for their return, which was delayed when Gula-Ndebele filed an application to appeal against the court’s decision.
He argued that early release only applied to Zimbabweans.
Griebenow said the appeal would only be of value to two pilots who had received 16-month sentences for aviation and immigration-related offences.
Two of the men due for release on Tuesday — Francisco Marcus and Melane Moyodue — are ill with tuberculosis, believed to have been picked up in prison.
Accusations of mistreatment of the prisoners have surfaced during their imprisonment, with Griebenow saying their living conditions were ”horrible”.
Their prison food had little nutritional value, they slept on the floor, and sometimes weeks went by without running water, he said.
The group was arrested at Harare International airport when they apparently landed to refuel and pick up military equipment.
Zimbabwean authorities said they were on their way to join 15 other alleged mercenaries — including eight South Africans — arrested in Equatorial Guinea around the same time.
The group in Equatorial Guinea were convicted and given long prison sentences, in what has been called a flawed trial, for attempting to overthrow the country’s long-time dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema. — Sapa