Simon Mann

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For the cricket commentator, see Simon Mann (cricket commentator).

Simon Mann
Simon Mann (6357724617).jpg
Born (1952-06-26) 26 June 1952 (age 66)
Aldershot, England, UK
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branchScots Guards
22 Special Air Service
Battles/wars1991 Gulf War
Working for private military companies:
Bougainville Uprising
Sierra Leone Civil War
2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt
RelationsGeorge Mann (father)
Frank Mann (grandfather)
Other workHas worked for a number of private military corporations including Sandline International

Simon Francis Mann (born 26 June 1952) is a former British Army officer and mercenary. He served part of a 34-year prison sentence in Equatorial Guinea for his role in a failed coup d'état in 2004, before receiving a presidential pardon on humanitarian grounds on 2 November 2009.[1]

Mann was extradited from Zimbabwe to Equatorial Guinea on 1 February 2008,[2] having been accused of planning a coup d'état to overthrow the government by leading a mercenary force into the capital Malabo in an effort to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Charges in South Africa of aiding a coup in a foreign country were dropped on 23 February 2007,[3] but the charges remained in Equatorial Guinea, where he had been convicted in absentia in November 2004. He lost an extradition hearing to Equatorial Guinea after serving three years of a four-year prison sentence in Zimbabwe for the same crimes and being released early on good behaviour.[4]

Upon Mann's arrival in Equatorial Guinea for his trial in Malabo, public Prosecutor Jose Olo Obono said that Mann would face three charges – crimes against the head of state, crimes against the government, and crimes against the peace and independence of the state.[5] On 7 July 2008, he was sentenced to 34 years and four months in prison by a Malabo court.[6] He was released on 2 November 2009, on humanitarian grounds.[7][8]

Early life

Simon Mann's father, George, captained the England cricket team in the late 1940s and was an heir to a stake in the Watney Mann brewing empire that closed in 1979, having been acquired by Grand Metropolitan (which, in 1997, became Diageo plc on its merger with Guinness). His mother is South African.[citation needed]

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català: Simon Mann
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日本語: サイモン・マン
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polski: Simon Mann
Scots: Simon Mann