Africa coup-plotter Simon Mann pardoned

LONDON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- British coup-plotter Simon Mann has been pardoned by Equatorial Guinea on health grounds after nearly two years in jail, officials say.

A statement posted on Equatorial Guinea's Ministry of Information Web site said Mann, a former British commando who led a group of more than 60 mainly South African mercenaries five years ago in a plot to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, had been released on humanitarian grounds, The Times of London reported Tuesday.

"The pardon was allowed for by presidential decree and granted on humanitarian grounds," the Times reported the statement saying. It cited Mann's medical needs and added that he had "shown sufficient and credible signs of repentance and a desire to take his place in society."

A statement read on national radio indicated Mann, 57, had been granted "total amnesty" and that he must leave Equatorial Guinea within 24 hours.

The Daily Mail reported a businessman who was allegedly part of the coup plot led two months of negotiations with the Equatoguinean Embassy in London.

The coup plot involved Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who pleaded guilty in South Africa to unwittingly helping bankroll the operation, The New York Times reported.