South Africans acquitted in coup plot

PRETORIA, South Africa, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- A South African court has dismissed charges against eight mercenaries accused of planning a 2004 coup against the government of Equatorial Guinea.

In acquitting the men, the judge ruled the state failed to prove its case, the BBC reports.

Lawyers for the defendants, all from South Africa, charged the failed plot had the tacit support of South African officials.

The eight defendants in the case were arrested in Zimbabwe on charges of purchasing arms in preparation for overthrowing the president of the former Spanish colony.

The reported leader of the attempted coup, former British SAS officer Simon Mann, remains in prison in Zimbabwe after being convicted of buying weapons without a license.

Sir Mark Thatcher, the son of former British Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher, received a fine and suspended sentence for his involvement in the affair.