Seventy suspected mercenaries charged in Zimbabwe with plotting to kill the president of Equatorial Guinea will be tried in a court set up in the jail where they are held, a judge ruled on Monday.
High Court Judge Tedius Karwi threw out an application by the men's lawyers for them to appear in an ordinary court, which they said would ensure an open and fair trial.
"It is a fact that the state has serious security and logistical concerns...I am of the opinion that Chikurubi Maximum Prison is the only compromise venue...The application is dismissed," Karwi said.
He said the hearing should be held in a large room within the prison complex to seat at least 100 people, and that the public, including journalists, should be given easy access. Defence lawyer Francois Joubert had argued that his clients had a constitutional right to appear in an ordinary court to ensure transparency.
But state prosecutor Mary Zimbi-Dube said the state had a right to hold the trial at Chikurubi, which was among several prisons designated as potential court venues under 1998 laws. The state had no resources to organise adequate security, transport and escorts for the 70 suspects, she added.
"We have one truck and we would need escorts. We don't have the mechanism in place to do this. These are not ordinary people like you and me...They are highly trained military men and we would not like them to escape," Zimbi-Dube said.
The 70 suspected mercenaries - from South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Democratic Republic of Congo and one from Zimbabwe - were arrested on March 7 after their US-registered Boeing 727 plane landed in Harare and was seized by Zimbabwean authorities.