Zimbabwe Says Mercenary Suspects May Face Death Penalty

Wed Mar 10,

HARARE (Reuters) - Dozens of foreigners held in Zimbabwe on suspicion of being mercenaries could face the death penalty, Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge said Wednesday.

"They are going to face the severest punishment available in our statutes, including capital punishment," Mudenge told a news briefing. "We will give them all the rights they are entitled to."

Zimbabwe detained 64 men Sunday following the seizure of a U.S.-registered cargo plane which officials said was carrying "military material." Officials Tuesday said the suspects were mainly Angolans, South Africans and Namibians.

They said they had also arrested a man identified as Simon Mann, a former member of the Britain's Special Air Service elite forces, and two other men who were at the airport to meet the plane when it landed in Harare Sunday.

Mudenge said Zimbabwe was in contact with the government of Equatorial Guinea, where officials Tuesday announced the arrest of 15 suspected foreign mercenaries they described as an advance party connected to the group detained in Harare.

"We are going about it deliberately and we are going to liase with our friends in Equatorial Guinea... with our friends in South Africa," Mudenge said.

"Apparently this was not one mission... after the diversion in Equatorial Guinea they were going to the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo)," he said.

South African Foreign Ministry officials have said any South Africans involved in mercenary activities were breaking the country's laws.

 Mercenary team' may face death

Zimbabwe's government has warned that more than 60 suspected foreign mercenaries detained on Sunday could face the death penalty.

Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge told a press conference the men would have to face the "severest punishment available in our statutes".

The men - said to be Angolans, South Africans and Namibians - were detained after their plane was impounded.

It is still unclear what the men were doing and where they were heading.

Zimbabwe's Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi said on Monday that as well as carrying the alleged mercenaries, the plane also contained "military material".

Mystery

The plane's operators, UK-based Logo Logistics Ltd, said the men were bound for the Democratic Republic of Congo to work as security guards on the mines.

A BBC correspondent says the Zimbabwean authorities have linked the men to a British ex-SAS soldier, the US government and a South African mercenary group.

Some reports had suggested the plane was bound for Equatorial Guinea, which has seen a security crackdown in recent days following reports of a coup attempt.

Equatorial Guinea's Information Minister Augustin Nse Nfumu said that 15 mercenaries had been arrested there, including several South Africans.

The South African foreign ministry issued a statement saying that any South Africans involved in mercenary activities would be breaking the law.