Harare, Mar 11: A group of men said to be mercenaries planning a coup in the African state of Equatorial Guinea are due to appear before a court in Zimbabwe on Thursday.
Zimbabwe has threatened the 64 suspects with the death penalty since seizing them at Harare airport on Sunday.
In Equatorial Guinea, a man said to be related to the group has appeared on television to "confess" to a coup plot.
Other reports say the suspects were security guards bound for other states who had stopped for mining supplies.
The company which chartered their plane said they had stopped in Harare en route to Burundi and DR Congo where they were due to provide security services for an internationally run mine.
But Zimbabwe and South Africa both support the government of Equatorial Guinea and say the men were part of a plot to overthrow the president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema.
Harare has accused the men of working for US, British and Spanish intelligence agencies.
"[They] are going to face the severest punishment available in our statutes, including capital punishment," said Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge without detailing the charges against them.
Bureau Report
