Simon Mann, the Briton who led a failed coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea and who also spent time in prison in Zimbabwe, has been pardoned and was set to be released from prison on Tuesday.
Mann, a British mercenary who was serving time in Zimbabwe for attempting to buy illegal weapons to be used in the failed coup, was convicted in the West African country last year of crimes against the state for his attempt to topple President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. He was arrested, along with 66 other soldiers, on the runway at Harare airport in 2004. Mann served 4 years in Chikurubi on the weapons charge before being extradited to Equatorial Guinea where he was sentenced to 34 years in prison and ordered to pay a £12 million fine.

The presidential pardon on Tuesday said Mann’s release had taken into account his health and his need “to receive regular medical treatment and to be with his family.” The pardon added that he had “shown sufficient and credible signs of repentance and a desire to take his place in society.”
It is also being speculated that the pardon might have been instigated by the South African government, with the pardon coming on the eve of an official visit by South African President Jacob Zuma. There has been no confirmation however over whether South Africa was involved in seeking the pardons, which include those of four South Africans, among them Nick du Toit, Mann’s second-in-command and the leader of an advance party.

Mann was once a neighbour of the former UK prime minister, Margaret Thatcher’s son, Mark in Cape Town, who was also implicated in the coup plot. In a letter from prison before his conviction, Mann wrote to his wife, Amanda, and his legal team: “Our situation is not good and it is very URGENT. They [the lawyers] get no reply from Smelly and Scratcher [who] asked them to ring back after the Grand Prix race was over!”
‘Scratcher’ is thought to be Mark Thatcher and ‘Smelly’ to be Ely Calil, a Chelsea-based oil billionaire accused by Equatorial Guinea of bankrolling the coup. Both men denied the allegations. In a separate trial in South Africa in 2005, Thatcher was given a fine and a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to unknowingly helping to finance the plot. He has always denied any direct involvement in the coup plot.