Two government doctors in Zimbabwe tasked with verifying the medical condition of jailed British mercenary Simon Mann have concluded that any delay in operating on him could be disastrous, his lawyer said on Friday.
Mann, who is accused of plotting to overthrow the government in Equatorial Guinea, is due to be released from a Zimbabwean high security jail on May 11.
But the government of President Tedoro Obiang Nguema is applying for his extradition to the oil-rich Central African country once he finishes his prison term in Zimbabwe.
Defence lawyer Jonathan Samkange said on Friday the examinations by the two government doctors had strengthened his client’s case against extradition.
”It strengthens his defence,” the lawyer told Deutsche Presse-Agentur in a telephone interview.
He said the government doctors had confirmed the defence claims that Mann was in need of a hip replacement, as well as urgent surgery for a hernia.
”They concluded that any delay in surgical treatment could be disastrous,” Samkange said.
The two doctors, George Vera of Harare Central Hospital and Noah Madziva of Parirenyatwa Hospital discovered that the former SAS officer was suffering from the additional ailment of chronic hypertension, Samkange said.
But Samkange said that despite the seriousness of his client’s condition, Mann was still holding out hope of undergoing surgery in his native England in the event of his release on May 11.
”My client’s view is that he’d rather die than go to a public hospital [in Zimbabwe], where he’s going to end up with tuberculosis and other things he hasn’t asked for,” he said.
Mann was arrested at Harare International Airport in March 2004 along with 69 other alleged soldiers of fortune. The authorities accused them of being en route to Malabo to topple the government, but they denied the charges.
Under Zimbabwean laws, Mann could only be convicted of firearms and security offences. He was sentenced to a four-year jail term, with a third off for good behaviour. The rest of the men were jailed for minor immigration offences and released two years ago.
Closing arguments in Mann’s extradition case are due to be heard on May 2. — Sapa-dpa