July 7 (Reuters) - British mercenary Simon Mann was on Monday sentenced to 34 years and four months in prison for his confessed role in a failed 2004 coup plot in Equatorial Guinea. He went on trial in Equatorial Guinea last month. Here is a chronology of the case: March 7, 2004 - Zimbabwe seizes U.S.-registered cargo plane carrying 64 suspected mercenaries and a cargo of military equipment. March 8 - About 15 suspected mercenaries are arrested in Equatorial Guinea in an investigation linked to the plane in Zimbabwe. Most of the suspects in both groups are South African. March 16 - Zimbabwe charges 70 suspected mercenaries with conspiring to murder Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. July 28 - Simon Mann, a former member of Britain's elite SAS regiment accused by Zimbabwe of leading the suspected mercenaries, pleads guilty to trying to possess dangerous weapons. Aug. 23 - Fourteen foreign suspected mercenaries and five Equatorial Guineans go on trial in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. Aug. 25 - South African police arrest Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, on suspicion of involvement in the plot. He is released from house arrest after posting 2 million rand (about $300,000) bail on Sept. 3. Aug. 27 - A Zimbabwean court finds Mann guilty of trying to possess dangerous weapons and jails him for seven years. Nov. 26 - Equatorial Guinea court convicts 11 foreigners and two local men of charges stemming from the plot. Nick Du Toit, a South African alleged to have led an advance group of mercenaries, receives the stiffest sentence of 34 years' imprisonment. Jan. 13, 2005 - Thatcher pleads guilty to a role in the plot under a plea bargain agreement allowing him to avoid jail by paying a 3 million rand fine and assisting South African authorities. He receives a four-year suspended jail sentence. May 15 - Zimbabwe frees 62 South Africans more than a year after they were arrested but the next day South Africa says it will charge them under its strict anti-mercenary laws. May 9, 2007 - Zimbabwe agrees to extradite Mann to Equatorial Guinea. Jan. 30, 2008 - Mann is deported to Equatorial Guinea from Zimbabwe to face coup plot charges after losing an appeal against extradition. He had served four years for buying weapons without a licence. March 11 - Mann says he plotted to oust Equatorial Guinea's president, but the scheme failed. March 30 - Guinea's public prosecutor says that Mann has testified that Thatcher knew all about the scheme to overthrow Obiang. June 17 - Mann goes on trial and the prosecution asks he be jailed for 32 years for his role in the coup plot. During the trial, Mann says Thatcher was part of the plot. June 20 - On the last day of his trial, Mann requests leniency, saying he was sorry for having been part of the plot. July 7 - Mann sentenced to 34 years and four months in prison. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ )(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit;
Members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) hold banners as they demonstrate in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe at Beit Bridge border crossing July 5, 2008. REUTERS/Antony ...
