US embassy cable - 04HARARE1492

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 001492 
 
SIPDIS 
 
YAOUNDE PLEASE PASS MALABO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2009 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, ZI 
SUBJECT: MERCENARY LEADER CONVICTED, OTHERS RELEASED 
 
REF: (A) CAPE TOWN 517 (B) CAPE TOWN 512 (C) HARARE 
 
     445 (D) HARARE 417 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Win Dayton under Section 1.5 b/d 
 
1.  (U) The GOZ-controlled Herald newspaper announced on 
August 28 that Simon Francis Mann was convicted August 27 of 
violating the Firearms Act.  Laurens Jacobus Horne and 
Jacobus Herminus Carlse were exonerated of related charges 
and released, while 66 others remained incarcerated after 
pleading guilty to contravening the Immigration Act and the 
Civil Aviation Act.  The court was scheduled to announce 
sentences for those remaining in custody on September 10. 
The GOZ also reportedly will seek to impound the aircraft, 
equipment and an undisclosed amount of cash seized from the 
detainees. 
 
2.  (C) One of the mercenaries' attorneys on August 31 
confirmed essentials of the newspaper account to the Embassy. 
 He added that Horne and Carlse had already departed the 
country for South Africa.  Mann would likely receive 
additional jail time, although probably less than the 
ten-year maximum sentence, and the 66 remaining detainees 
were expected to be fined less than USD 300 each and released 
on September 10.  The prosecuting attorney had agreed that 
there were no grounds to meet Equatorial Guinea's extradition 
request. 
 
3.  (C) COMMENT: Even as the GOZ exploited the Mann affair 
for propaganda effect (refs C and D), security elements 
seemed genuinely nervous about prospects of a raid to free 
the mercenaries and may be pleased to see most of them leave. 
 Moreover, legal analysts had assessed some time ago that 
Zimbabwean law did not offer sufficient ground to hold most 
of the detainees for very long.  The curious convergence of 
the court activity and Mark Thatcher's arrest (refs A and B) 
is likely coincidental.  In any event, the South African 
Embassy does not appear to have lobbied forcefully on behalf 
of the South Africans involved. 
 
Dell