Zimbabwe: A court in Harare will decide next Wednesday whether a former British special forces officer, alleged to be the ringleader in a coup plot against the Equatorial Guinean government, will be extradited to the oil-rich West African nation.
In an extradition hearing, state prosecutors argued there was clear evidence Simon Mann led a group of mercenary suspects headed for West Africa when they were arrested in Zimbabwe in 2004 and should be tried in Equatorial Guinea.
Mann, who used to be a close friend of Mark Thatcher, the son of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was arrested along with other suspects when their aircraft arrived at Harare's main airport to collect weapons.
Mann was sentenced to four years but is due for release later this month on good behaviour.
In a South African court, Thatcher pleaded guilty to unwittingly helping to bankroll the coup attempt. He was fined and received a suspended sentence.
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