Leon urges govt to help SA 'mercenaries'

Tony Leon, the leader of the official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), has asked government to intervene to help South Africans arrested in Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe. He was speaking during a Human Rights Day election rally in Bushbuckridge, Limpopo province.

Leon said all those arrested in an alleged plot to overthrow the Equatorial Guinea government should be treated in a humane way. Seventy alleged mercenaries are being held in Zimbabwe and 15 in Equatorial Guinea. Zimbabwe is determined to have 70 suspected mercenaries tried in a top-security prison where they are detained, but the trial would be open to the public, the country's chief prosecutor said yesterday.

The men held filed an urgent court application on Friday to have their case heard in an open formal court, but the appeal is still to be considered. - Additional reporting Reuters