For a change some good news ...
A Zimbabwe court has slashed the sentence of Briton Simon
Mann, leader of a group jailed on charges related to a suspected coup
plot against the government of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, his lawyer
said on Thursday.
Mann, a former member of Britain's special services, has been serving a
seven-year prison term after being convicted last September of
attempting to buy weapons without a licence from a Zimbabwe state firm.
Lawyer Jonathan Samkange said the defence had successfully applied to
the High Court for a review of Mann's sentence, adding that the court
was also reviewing the sentences of 64 South African citizens jailed
with him on related charges.
"The High Court made a review of his (Mann's) sentence and reduced it
to four years after we made representations," Samkange told Reuters.
"We are still awaiting the judge's decision on the other guys because
we have also made representations for a review."
Samkange gave no date for the appeal.
Court officials were not immediately available for comment.
The High Court last month allowed the 64 South Africans to appeal to
the Supreme Court, the highest in the country, against both their
sentences and convictions, but rejected a similar application by Mann.
Two out of an original group of 70 men were acquitted by a Harare
magistrate, one died in prison and two were released on health grounds
after falling ill.
The case has also involved Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher, who pleaded guilty in South Africa on
Thursday to a role in the Equatorial Guinea coup plot.