Phil in Paris
12-07-2004, 11:19 PM
Friday, November 26, 2004 Posted: 1423 GMT (2223 HKT)
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (Retuers) -- An Equatorial Guinean court handed down a 34-year jail term on Friday to South African Nick Du Toit after convicting him of a leading role in a plot to topple the president of the oil-rich country.
Four other South Africans were sentenced to 17 years in prison, while three were acquitted.
Du Toit and the seven other South Africans, six Armenians and five Equatorial Guineans were on trial in the Equatorial Guinean capital Malabo on charges including terrorism, crimes against the head of state and possession of guns and explosives.
The Armenians received jail terms of between 14 and 24 years, while two Equatorial Guineans were sentenced to a year and four months in prison. Three other Equatorial Guineans were acquitted.
The state prosecutor said the accused were an advance party of mercenaries planning to kill President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and replace him with an exiled opposition politician, Severo Moto.
Moto, who lives in Spain, was sentenced in absentia to 63 years in jail, while eight members of his self-proclaimed government in exile received 52 years.
Prosecutors alleged that the coup was funded by a group of foreigners including former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's son Mark, lured by the prospect of a stake in sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil producer.
Thatcher and all the other foreigners named by the prosecutors have denied any wrongdoing.
The judge said the state should continue to pursue all those who had played a part in the plot and were still outside the country, including Thatcher.
Copyright 2004 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/11/26/eg.verdict.reut/index.html
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (Retuers) -- An Equatorial Guinean court handed down a 34-year jail term on Friday to South African Nick Du Toit after convicting him of a leading role in a plot to topple the president of the oil-rich country.
Four other South Africans were sentenced to 17 years in prison, while three were acquitted.
Du Toit and the seven other South Africans, six Armenians and five Equatorial Guineans were on trial in the Equatorial Guinean capital Malabo on charges including terrorism, crimes against the head of state and possession of guns and explosives.
The Armenians received jail terms of between 14 and 24 years, while two Equatorial Guineans were sentenced to a year and four months in prison. Three other Equatorial Guineans were acquitted.
The state prosecutor said the accused were an advance party of mercenaries planning to kill President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and replace him with an exiled opposition politician, Severo Moto.
Moto, who lives in Spain, was sentenced in absentia to 63 years in jail, while eight members of his self-proclaimed government in exile received 52 years.
Prosecutors alleged that the coup was funded by a group of foreigners including former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's son Mark, lured by the prospect of a stake in sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil producer.
Thatcher and all the other foreigners named by the prosecutors have denied any wrongdoing.
The judge said the state should continue to pursue all those who had played a part in the plot and were still outside the country, including Thatcher.
Copyright 2004 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/11/26/eg.verdict.reut/index.html