(Adds Amnesty International comment paragraphs 13-14) By Bernardino Ndze Biyoa MALABO, June 13 (Reuters) - British mercenary Simon Mann, an Eton-educated former special forces officer, will go on trial in Equatorial Guinea on Tuesday accused of leading a failed 2004 coup, the state's public prosecutor said. Jose Olo Obono said that Mann, arrested that year in Zimbabwe with 70 mercenaries en route to the oil-rich West African nation, will face three main charges: crimes against the head of state, crimes against the government and crimes against the peace and independence of the state. "There are evident facts in this case, so what can he say?" Olo Obono told Reuters on Friday. "The maximum sentence would be the death penalty ... but I don't think in this case we will seek the death penalty." Mann, held in the capital Malabo's notorious Black Beach prison, said in a television interview shown in Britain in March that he plotted to oust President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who has ruled the ex-Spanish colony since 1979. Equatorial Guinea authorities have said Mann has testified that Mark Thatcher, the son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, knew all about the scheme to topple the government of sub-Saharan Africa's third-largest oil producer. Thatcher has denied any involvement. He was arrested in 2004 at his Cape Town home on suspicion of bankrolling the coup plot, but agreed a plea bargain deal with South African authorities. Mann, heir to a brewing fortune who attended Britain's exclusive Eton School, was extradited from Zimbabwe in February after serving a four-year sentence for buying weapons without a licence. Prosecutors said the arms were to be used in the coup. "DOGS OF WAR" The arrest of Mann, who once served in Britain's elite Special Air Service (SAS) regiment, had ended the career of one of the last prominent "dogs of war" still active in Africa. After his army service, Mann, 55, helped found two security firms that became bywords for mercenary activity across Africa in the 1990s -- Executive Outcomes and Sandline International. Mann had appealed against his extradition from Zimbabwe by arguing he would not receive a fair trial and could be tortured in Equatorial Guinea, which has faced sharp international criticism for human rights abuses. The High Court in Zimbabwe, which has an oil supply deal with Equatorial Guinea, dismissed his argument. "As far as Amnesty (International) is concerned, there has never been a fair trial in Equatorial Guinea," said Amnesty's country researcher, Marise Castro. She said the 2004 trial of other suspected coup plotters was plagued with problems, from wildly inaccurate translations to a lack of evidence. "Anywhere else it would have to be retried." Olo Obono said journalists would be allowed to cover the Mann trial but cameras would not be permitted in the courtroom. Eleven other men, including several foreigners, are already serving sentences of between 13 and 34 years in Equatorial Guinea in connection with the alleged plot.(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ ) (Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Mark Trevelyan)
British Ambassador to U.N. John Sawers (C) talks to Sudan's president assistant Nafi Ali Nafi (R) as South Africa's Ambassador to U.N. Dumisani Kumalo looks on before the meeting of members ...
