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 of funding opposition groups in exile and supporting the coup directly: Our intelligence sources say that the warship was going to arrive on the same date that the coup attempt was going to take place – 8 March...It [the war ship] was already in our territorial waters with 500 soldiers aboard. Meanwhile there was a team of foreign mercenaries already in Equatorial Guinea who knew where we lived. They had plans to kill 50 people and to arrest others. The Spanish foreign ministry spokeswoman denied the allegations; "There was no ship there, we deny any kind of implication in any