/ 15 May 2007

Zimbabwean police detain Mann’s lawyer

Zimbabwean police have detained the lawyer of Briton Simon Mann, who is fighting his extradition to Equatorial Guinea on charges of masterminding a foiled coup in that country, a colleague said on Tuesday.

Law Society of Zimbabwe president Beatrice Mtetwa said that Mann’s lawyer, Jonathan Samkange, was picked up by police on Monday night for allegedly bringing a witness into the country under false pretences in a bid to prop up his client’s case.

“He [Samkange] is being held at Rhodesville police station [in Harare],” Mtetwa said. “The allegations are that he brought a witness [into the country] under false pretence in the Simon Mann case.”

Chris Venturas, a lawyer who works for the same law firm as Samkange, confirmed the detention.

“He was picked up last night [Monday] from his home for allegedly breaching the Immigration Act. He has not yet been charged,” he said.

Venturas said the issue related to “a witness involving the Simon Mann case who is based in Spain, but is from Equatorial Guinea”.

There was no immediate reaction from authorities.

Harare magistrate Omega Mugumbate last week ordered Mann’s extradition to Equatorial Guinea to face charges of planning to oust that country’s long-serving ruler, Teodoro Obiang Nguema.

Mann completed his jail term last Wednesday after serving three years for an arms offence under Zimbabwean law related to the alleged coup plot.

He is being held on an immigration warrant at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison on the outskirts of Harare awaiting the outcome of an appeal to the High Court to reverse the extradition order.

Samkange has said his client was likely to be tortured and denied a fair trial in Malabo.

Mann, a former member of Britain’s crack SAS troops, was arrested with 61 others when their plane landed at Harare International Airport in March 2004.

They were accused of stopping off to pick up weapons from Harare while on their way to Malabo to oust Nguema, who has ruled the West African state with an iron fist since 1979.

Mann said he and his co-accused were on their way to the Democratic Republic of Congo and needed the weapons for a security contract at a mine. — AFP