Zimbabwean authorities extradited former British special forces officer Simon Mann, accused in an alleged 2004 attempt to mount a coup in Equatorial Guinea, to Malabo late Wednesday even as his lawyers moved file an appeal to the supreme court.
Reports said Mann was flown to Malabo on a Zimbabwean air force jet after the high court in Harare turned down an appeal in the case. His lawyer, Jonathan Samkange, told reporters he only learned on Friday morning hat Mann had been extradited as he attempted to file an appeal of the high court ruling in the supreme court.
Mann was arrested in 2004 with 60 other suspected mercenaries during a stopover at the Harare airport when he was allegedly on his way to mount a coup d'état against the government of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema.
Samkange could not be reached, but Law Society of Zimbabwe President Beatrice Mtetwa told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Samkange had earlier filed a complaint about state violations of his clients rights in the case.