EQUIPO NIZKOR |
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16nov04
Malabo court to try Mark Thatcher for Equatorial Guinea coup plot.
British businessman Mark Thatcher is to be tried in his absence by a court in Equatorial Guinea for his alleged role in a bid to oust President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, a defense lawyer told reporters.
"Eight new names have been added to the list of accused, including Britain's Mark Thatcher who will be tried in absentia," said lawyer Fabian Nsue Nguema who is representing South African Nick du Toit, accused of being in charge of logistics for an attempted coup against Obiang.
Thatcher, son of British former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, was arrested in August at his luxury home in Cape Town, South Africa, and accused of contributing 275,000 dollars (230,000 euros) to help finance the plot in Equatorial Guinea.
The names of the other eight people added to the list of accused in the coup plot "are for the most part members of the government in exile" of opposition leader Severo Moto, who has been accused of masterminding the plot from his home in exile in Spain, said Nsue Nguema.
Other defendants include eight South Africans, among them du Toit; a six-man Armenian air crew and five Equatorial Guineans, including a former deputy minister.
[Source: Agence France-Presse, Malabo, 16Nov04]
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