Freed 'mercenaries' recount torture by Mugabe's men

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• Zim 69 plead guilty to lesser charges

• SA in secret talks over Mann

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By Agencies

TWO of the alleged 70 mercenaries detained in Zimbabwe recounted the abuse suffered at the hands of the Zimbabwean authorities upon their arrival at Johannesburg International on Saturday.

Harry Carelse and Jacobus Horn were freed on Friday and released from Harare's Chikurubi maximum security prison after having been acquitted by a Zimbabwean magistrate of charges of "conspiracy to possess dangerous weapons".

However, they will present themselves to the Scorpions on Monday as they could be charged in South Africa under laws preventing citizens from being involved in mercenary activities.

The two were part of a group of 70 alleged mercenaries arrested on March 7 at Harare International Airport.

Their plane had allegedly stopped off in Harare to purchase weapons to be used in an alleged coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea.

Carelse and Horn arrived with their lawyer on a scheduled South African Airways flight from Harare.

They received a jubulant reception from friends and family and were mobbed by reporters and photographers.

Looking tired and worn out but clean, Carelse told reporters that he had lost 14kg in Chikuribi prison under conditions he described as "terrible" where overcrowding and disease were rife, nutrition and access to medical care "non-existent".

He also told of how he had been stripped naked and interrogated, beaten and forced to sleep in handcuffs and leg irons.

"The justice system in Zim sucks," said the security consultant from Randburg, adding that they were given no access to legal representation during the first three weeks after their arrest.

Horn said how they had been forced, under threat of electric shock treatment, to make statements to police.

Their lawyer, Alwyn Griebenow said that the two men still had criminal charges pending in South Africa.

"We've been in contact with the Scorpions for the past four months and there is a case we will have to answer to," he said, adding that they would present themselves at the Scorpion's office on Monday.

Asked about the fate of the alleged coup leader Simon Mann, found guilty in Zimbabwe on charges of attempting to illegally buy arms, Griebenow said that "he will be lucky if he gets two to four year's prison".

Scorpions spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi on Saturday declined to comment on the matter.

As for the rest of the men, Griebenow said that they had all been convicted of charges relating to violation of immigration laws and would be sentenced on September 10.

Asked how the remainder of the prisoners back in Harare were feeling now that the two of them had been released, Carelse commented: "They were overjoyed that some of us are out because they see it as a sign that they will soon be released too."
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