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マーク・サッチャーが絡んだ赤道ギニアのクーデター未遂事件ですが、英外務省はこの計画の詳細を（3月に）計画が発覚する2月前に入手していたことがオブザーバー紙によって報じられました。外務省は「適切に対処した」と言っているが、赤道ギニアにこの計画を伝えたことはないとオブザーバー紙は伝えている。以下BBCからこのニュースと、首謀者が刑を宣告されたという報道、サッチャーの南アフリカでの裁判が来年4月まで延期になったという報道を転載
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4050079.stm
Last Updated: Sunday, 28 November, 2004, 19:15 GMT
Coup plot 'silence' played down
*The Foreign Office is playing down reports it had full details of a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea two months before it was foiled.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was told of the plans in January, according to a report in The Observer newspaper.
But he did not share the reports with African authorities, apparently believing it added nothing to rumours already circulating in the media.
The Foreign Office said it "acted promptly" on "relevant information".
*"Highly detailed"
The coup was foiled in March when a team of mercenaries were arrested in Zimbabwe, as they prepared to pick up a consignment of weapons.
A number of people, including Briton Simon Mann, have been convicted and sentenced on weapons charges. Mann denies he was on his way to stage a coup.
In South Africa Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret, is awaiting trial for allegedly helping to bankroll the coup - a charge he denies.
The Observer said Mr Straw and his junior minister for Africa, Chris Mullin, had been told of the coup plot on 30 January, but failed to warn the government of the small, oil-rich west African state.
It said two "highly detailed" reports had been sent, in December 2003 and January this year, from Johann Smith, a former commander in the South African Defence Forces, to two senior British intelligence officers.
It said the documents featured the names of many South African mercenaries who have since been sentenced for their role in the plot.
*Realistic timeline
The January report stated the coup would be attempted "in mid-March 2004".
The author of the report added: "Knowing the individuals as well as I do, this timeline is very realistic and will provide for ample time to plan, mobilise, equip and deploy the force."
The Foreign Office told the paper: "We do not comment on intelligence issues.
"But ministers and officials (in the ministry) acted promptly on receipt of relevant information."
In a written answer to a question from shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram, Mr Straw claimed first reports of the coup had circulated in Spanish newspaper El Mundo in late January.
He said the Foreign Office did not share details of the reports because of regulations governing "confidential diplomatic exchanges".
Mr Straw added: "As we were not able to establish any definitive evidence which could add significantly to the reports which had already appeared in the media we took no further action with other African governments. But we did review and update our civil contingency plan."
*Hearing postponed
Proceedings against Sir Mark over allegations he helped finance a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea have been postponed until April next year.
Sir Mark, 51, had been expected to enter a plea in a South African court on Wednesday, but prosecutors wanted more time.
The businessman had his bail conditions extended, meaning he is confined to the Cape Town area for at least the next five months.
Equatorial Guinea, Africa's third biggest oil producer, says it intends to extradite him to face similar charges as 14 other suspected foreign mercenaries currently on trial there.
*Two leading figures in a plot to oust Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema have been sentenced to lengthy jail terms by a court.
Plot leader Nick du Toit was jailed for 34 years, while opposition leader Severo Moto, who is in exile in Spain, was given 63 years in absentia.
Both men escaped the death penalty demanded by the prosecution.
Twelve other defendants were found guilty of a role in the plot in Sub-Saharan Africa's third oil producer.
The government of the tiny state, made up of islands and mainland jungle, denies widespread accusations of corruption and human rights abuses.
*Death plot
Prosecutors in the capital, Malabo, had argued the convicted men planned to kill President Nguema and install Moto.
Du Toit was convicted on charges including terrorism, crimes against the head of state and possession of guns and explosives.
The 48-year-old South African, a former special forces officer, had originally confessed to leading the advance party in the coup attempt in March.
He retracted his statement earlier this month, claiming he was tortured
While in custody, he told the BBC he had been involved in the plot but claimed he played only a minor role.
Four other South Africans were sentenced to 17 years in prison, while three were acquitted.
Six Armenians received jail terms of between 14 and 24 years, while two Equatorial Guineans were sentenced to 16 months in prison and three others were acquitted.
Eight members of Moto's self-proclaimed government in exile also received 52 years each.
British mercenary Simon Mann has already been convicted of trying to buy weapons illegally in Zimbabwe on his way to carry out the coup.
*'Irregularities'
Lawyers for the South African defendants said they would appeal.
"We want to bring to light for the whole world to see all the irregularities that have marked this trial... the fact that the prisoners did not have free access to their lawyers and the torture that they endured in jail," lawyer Fabian Nsue Nguema told Reuters news agency.
Du Toit's family said they were too distraught to react to the verdicts.
"We are in shock and not sure yet exactly what is going on," his daughter, Marlise Bezuidenhout, told AFP.
The South African foreign ministry said it would continue to "ensure consular services and assistance are provided to the South African prisoners in Malabo".
Before the sentencing, South Africa said it would intervene should the death penalty be meted out to Du Toit. The death penalty is banned in South Africa.
*Thatcher sought
Correspondents say the court's decision not to impose the death penalty could help Equatorial Guinea achieve the extradition of the most prominent figure allegedly involved in the plot - Sir Mark Thatcher, the son of former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Malabo Judge Onco Ncumu said Equatorial Guinea should pursue all those accused of involvement in the plot, including Sir Mark.
Du Toit said in his BBC interview he had met Sir Mark to discuss the sale of helicopters but there was no mention of any coup.
Earlier this week, a South African court postponed a hearing at which Sir Mark was due to have answered questions from Equatorial Guinea, which accuses him of helping to finance the plot.
The 51-year-old businessman said he felt like "a corpse" while proceedings continued. He denies any involvement in the plot.
*Proceedings against Sir Mark Thatcher over allegations he helped finance a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea have been postponed until 8 April.
The son of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had been expected to enter a plea in a South African court, but prosecutors wanted more time.
On Wednesday, the High Court there ruled he must also face questions from Equatorial Guinea investigators.
Sir Mark, 51, says he was feeling like "a corpse" while proceedings go on.
The businessman - who appeared in court for the two-minute hearing - had his bail conditions extended, meaning he is confined to the Cape Town area for at least the next five months
*Charges denied
Sir Mark, the son of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, has denied being involved in a plan to topple the government of Equatorial Guinea but is barred from leaving South Africa while investigations continue.
Sir Mark denies the charges.
He was arrested in August at his home in South Africa and released after a bail payment of £167,000 ($314,000) was made.
The businessman had sought to avoid questioning by investigators from Equatorial Guinea, saying the questions would infringe on his right to silence and would impact on his trial in South Africa as well as Equatorial Guinea should he later be extradited.
On Wednesday, Judge Deon van Zyl rejected this argument, saying South African Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla was within her rights to seek Sir Mark's responses to the Equatorial Guinea questions.
*Extradition plan
"She was perfectly entitled to accept the existing scenario as an issue of foreign policy and co-operative relations between South Africa and Equatorial Guinea," Judge van Zyl said, adding that Sir Mark's rights would not be compromised.
"At no stage have such rights been violated or even threatened," he said.
Sir Mark's legal team are still deciding whether to appeal against the ruling.
Equatorial Guinea, Africa's third biggest oil producer, says it intends to extradite him to face similar charges as 14 other suspected foreign mercenaries currently on trial there.
In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, Sir Mark said he felt like "a corpse" and that he was glad his father was not alive to see his arrest.
Sir Mark told the magazine: "I will never be able to do business again. Who will deal with me?"
He said there were 18,500 references to the case on the day he was arrested in August this year.
"Thank God my father is not alive to see this," he said in the January edition of the magazine, on sale from 3 December.
He was "furious" that he was confined to South Africa, and that his telephone calls and emails are monitored by the authorities there.
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