Simon Mann

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For other people called Simon Mann, see Simon Mann (disambiguation)

Simon Mann (born on 26 June 1952) is a security expert, mercenary and former British Army officer, and South African citizen extradited to Equatorial Guinea on 1 February 2008[1], against which he is accused of leading a failed coup d'etat. He was accused of planning to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea by leading a mercenary force into the capital Malabo in an effort to kidnap or kill president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. The charges in South Africa against him were dropped on 23 February 2007 [2], but remain in Equatorial Guinea, where he was convicted in absentia in November, 2004. Once extradited and convicted, he is likely to serve a minimum 30 year prison sentence at Black Beach prison. He lost an extradition hearing to Equatorial Guinea after serving 3 years of a 4 year prison sentence in Zimbabwe for the same crimes and being released early on good behavior.[3]

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[edit] Biography

Simon Mann's father, George Mann, captained the England cricket team in the late 1940s and was heir to the Watney Mann brewing empire that is now part of Diageo. George's father (Simon's grandfather) Frank Mann, also captained the England cricket team in 1922/23. After leaving Eton College, Simon Mann trained as an officer at Sandhurst and joined the Scots Guards. He later became a member of the SAS and served in Cyprus, Germany, Norway and Northern Ireland before leaving the forces in 1985. He was re-called to action from the reserves for the Gulf War.

Mann then entered the field of computer security; however, his interest in this industry lapsed when he returned from his service in the Gulf and he entered the oil industry to work with Tony Buckingham. Buckingham also had a military background and had been a diver in the North Sea oil industry before joining a Canadian oil firm. In 1993 UNITA rebels in Angola seized the port of Soyo, and closed its oil installations. The Angolan government under Jose Eduardo dos Santos sought mercenaries to seize back the port and asked for assistance from Buckingham who had by now formed his own company. Buckingham hired a South African organization called Executive Outcomes and Mann and Buckingham now became involved in Executive Outcomes' mercenary activities.

Mann went on to establish Sandline International with Tim Spicer in 1996. The company operated mostly in Angola and Sierra Leone but in 1997 the Sandline received a commission from the government of Papua New Guinea to suppress a rebellion on the island of Bougainville and the company came to international prominence. In 2002 Mann played Colonel Wilford of the Parachute Regiment for Granada Television's Bloody Sunday, a dramatization by Paul Greengrass of the events of Bloody Sunday. Sandline International announced the closure of the company's operations on April 16, 2004.

On March 7, 2004 Simon Mann and 69 others were arrested in Zimbabwe when their Boeing 727 was seized by security forces during a stop-off at Harare airport where the aircraft was due to be loaded with £100,000 worth of weapons and equipment. The men were charged with violating the country’s immigration, firearms and security laws and later accused of engaging in an attempt to stage a coup-d'etat in Equatorial Guinea. Meanwhile eight suspected mercenaries, one of whom later died in prison, were detained in Equatorial Guinea in connection with the alleged plot. Mann and the others claimed that they were not on their way to Equatorial Guinea, but were in fact flying to the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to provide security for diamond mines owned by JFPI Corporation. Mann and his colleagues were put on trial in Zimbabwe and on August 27 Mann was found guilty of attempting to buy arms for an alleged coup plot and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment.[4][5] Sixty-six of the other men were acquitted.

On August 25, Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was arrested at his home in Cape Town, South Africa. He was eventually found guilty (under a plea bargain) to negligently supplying financial assistance for the plot. On August 25, CNN reported on the Equatorial Guinea court case of the 14 men in the mercenary advance guard. Defendant Nick du Toit claimed that he had been introduced to Thatcher by Mann. BBC News would later report that financial records of Mann's holdings would show large transfers of money to Nick du Toit, as well as approximately $2m coming in from an untraceable and unknown source. On September 10, Simon Mann was sentenced to seven years in jail. His compatriots received year sentences for violating immigration laws and their two pilots got 16 months. The group's Boeing 727 was seized, as well as the $180,000 that was found on board the plane.

On 23 February 2007, the charges were dropped against Mann and the other alleged conspirators in South Africa. Mann remained in Zimbabwe, where he was convicted of charges from the same incident.[2] On 2 May 2007 a Zimbabwe court ruled that Mann should be extradited to Equatorial Guinea to face charges. The Zimbabwean judge ruled that he should be extradited to Equatorial Guinea, although the Zimbabweans have promised that he will not be faced with the death penalty. His extradition has been described as the "oil for Mann" deal, in reference to the large amounts of oil that Mugabe has managed to secure from Equatorial Guinea. The Black Beach prison in Equatorial Guinea, where Mann is likely to be sent, is notorious for its bad conditions. Inmates rarely get medical treatment and are often starved and tortured. One of Mann's co-conspirators has already died at Black Beach. Mann lost an appeal against the decision to extradite him.[3][6]

On January 30, 2008, Mann, 55, per his lawyers stated that they would appeal the judgment to the Supreme Court.[7] The next day Mann was deported to Equatorial Guinea in secret, leading to claims by his lawyers that the extradition was hastened to defeat the possibility of appeal to the Supreme Court. [8] [9]

Robert Young Pelton, who was in Equatorial Guinea at the time took the first and only photographs of Simon Mann in Black Beach prison which were published in the Daily Mail. Although Mann's lawyer, the media and his wife Amanda (who has never phoned him or visited him) insisted he was being mistreated the UK Ambassador Harris and the US Intel Officer visited Mann and confirmed he is in good health and good spirits. However, given Equatorial Guinea's dictatorship, and extremely bad human rights record, there cannot be a true guarantee. In a recent interview broadcast on Channel Four, Mann was filmed shackled with red wounds on both his arms and legs caused by the restraints. Furthermore Channel Four, whilst being told repeatedly by Mann (arguably under duress) and a Guinean official of the good conditions of Black Beach, noted no filming or viewing inside the prison was allowed.

On 8 March 2008, Channel 4 in the UK won a legal battle to broadcast an interview with Mann in which he sensationally named British political figures, including Ministers, alleged to have given tacit approval to the coup plot.[10]

In testimony that could prove highly damaging to the Government, he spoke 'frankly' about the events leading to the botched attempt to topple Equatorial Guinea's president.[10]

[edit] Film portrayal

The alleged coup planned for Equatorial Guinea is the subject of the film Coup!, written by John Fortune. Simon Mann is played by Jared Harris, with Robert Bathurst as Mark Thatcher. (The film takes care not to suggest that Thatcher knew about the coup plot.) It was broadcast on BBC 2 on June 30, 2006 and on ABC (Australia) on January 21, 2008.[11]

Miramax Films reportedly is in development of a feature film version of Wonga, and production company, Shooting Stars (London) Ltd are also developing a feature loosely based on the press accounts of the Equatorial Guinea attempted Coup, entitled "Overthrow."

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Zimbabwe sends British mercenary to face the despot he plotted to overthrow
  2. ^ a b SA court drops coup plot charges BBC News February 23 2007
  3. ^ a b Coup plotter faces life in Africa's most notorious jail Kim Sengupta The Independent May 112007
  4. ^ 'Mercenary leader' found guilty, BBC News, August 27, 2004
  5. ^ Zimbabwe jails UK 'coup plotter', BBC News, September 10, 2004
  6. ^ Mann in the middle of two African dictators Hugh Russel The First Post May 2, 2007
  7. ^ BBC NEWS, Mann loses extradition appeal
  8. ^ BBC NEWS, Zimbabwe deports Mann to E Guinea
  9. ^ Zimbabwe accused as Briton sent to Equatorial Guinea jail. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  10. ^ a b I was not the main man Jonathan Miller Channel 4 March 11 2008
  11. ^ Coup! BBC June 30th 2006


[edit] References

[edit] Further Reading

Licensed to Kill, Hired Guns in the War on Terror by Robert Young Pelton - covers the coup attempt and aftermath by Nick du Toit and Simon Mann Three Worlds Gone Mad by Robert Young Pelton - covers the birth and rise of Executive Outcomes and Sandline as well as the events in Sierra Leone and Bougainville

  • Roberts, Adam (2006). The Wonga Coup, Guns, Thugs and a Ruthless Determination to Create Mayhem in an Oil-Rich Corner of Africa. Public Affairs. ISBN 978-1586483715. 

[edit] External links