By Daniel Flynn MALABO, June 20 (Reuters) - British mercenary Simon Mann sought leniency from a court in Equatorial Guinea on Friday, saying he was sorry for having been part of a failed coup plot to topple the president of the oil-rich West African state. Mann, an Eton-educated former special forces officer, risks being sent to jail for nearly 32 years for his role in the 2004 conspiracy to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. He has said he was just "an employee" in the plot. "I apologise for what has happened and I am very happy that nothing actually happened in 2004," Mann told the court on the fourth and final day of his trial, held in a heavily guarded conference centre in the Equatorial Guinea capital Malabo. Although the trial proceedings ended on Friday, a verdict is not expected until next week, Mann's defence lawyer, Jose Pablo Nvo, and court officials said. Appealing for leniency, Nvo asked the three-judge tribunal to sentence Mann to only a third of the term demanded by the prosecution. He portrayed his client as a pawn of powerful international businessmen he said were seeking to seize the oil and gas riches of Equatorial Guinea, sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil producer, which Obiang has ruled since 1979. "This story is a tale of how business lobbies tried to carve up Equatorial Guinea's crude oil and gas resources ... As he (Mann) testified yesterday, this criminal operation is still under way," Nvo said. "What I am asking for is a third of the sentence sought by the prosecution," he added. Mann, who has looked gaunt and pale in his grey prison uniform during the four-day trial, has admitted he was part of the coup plot, which was foiled when Zimbabwe arrested him and 70 mercenaries en route to Equatorial Guinea aboard a plane. But he testified he was just "an employee" in a plot he said was financed and backed by international businessmen including London-based Lebanese millionaire Eli Calil and Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Mark Thatcher and Calil are not on trial in Malabo. They have denied any involvement in the coup conspiracy. Asked by reporters on Friday if he was prepared to spend the rest of his life in Malabo's notorious Black Beach prison, where he is being held, Mann replied: "If I have to, I have to". MANN "WAS LIED TO" Equatorial Guinea's Public Prosecutor Jose Olo Obono said Mann had cooperated during the investigation and trial. On Tuesday, he asked the court to sentence Mann to a cumulative jail term of 31 years and eight months on charges of crimes against the head of state, crimes against the government and crimes against the peace and independence of the state. Olo Obono said Equatorial Guinea would seek the extradition of Mark Thatcher and Calil. Defence lawyer Nvo said Mann had been lied to by Calil about the conditions in Equatorial Guinea, which, according to Mann's testimony, Calil had told him was ripe for a coup. During his trial, Mann had said that the governments of Spain and South Africa had given a "green light" to the 2004 conspiracy, which had aimed to replace Obiang with exiled opposition leader Severo Moto. The Spanish and South African governments have denied Mann's allegations. Mann, the heir to a brewing fortune who attended Britain's exclusive Eton College and served in the British army's elite Special Air Service, was extradited from Zimbabwe this year after serving a four-year sentence for illegal arms possession. He told reporters on Friday that while in jail in Zimbabwe, he was offered a deal in 2005 by Equatorial Guinea authorities in which they would drop charges against him and allow him to go home if he gave them information about the other conspirators. But at the time he had refused on the advice of his lawyers. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/) (Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Catherine Evans)
Fishermen pull in nets of sardines on Scottburgh beach some 60 km (37 miles) south of Durban June 13, 2008. The east coast of South Africa is host to an annual ...
