Simon Mann On 2 November 2009 he was given "a complete pardon on humanitarian grounds" by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. He was back in England by 6 November. He lives in the New Forest. Mann's memoir, "Cry Havoc", was published in 2011, to mixed reviews. Simon Mann Simon Francis Mann (born 26 June 1952) is a former British Army officer and mercenary. He served part of a 34-year prison sentence in Equatorial Guinea for his role in a failed coup d'état in 2004, before receiving a presidential pardon on humanitarian grounds on 2 November 2009. Mann was extradited from Zimbabwe to Equatorial
2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt from Johann Smith, a former commander in South African Special Forces and an internationally renowned security analyst who has been an occasional adviser to President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. In a statement by Smith given to lawyers representing the government of Equatorial Guinea, he says he began hearing rumours of a coup in both Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tomé in November 2003 from two ex-soldiers of the 32 Buffalo Battalion who told him they had been recruited for a coup by Nick du Toit: Because I was continuing to work in Equatorial Guinea with government, it was not in my