Witnesses say Armenian pilots not involved in Equatorial Guinea coup –
spokesman

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
25 Aug 04

There has been an unexpected turn of events at the Equatorial Guinea
coup plot trial. Mark Thatcher, the son of former British Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher, has been arrested in South
Africa. [Passage omitted: known details of charges against sir Mark.]

Sixty-four expatriates were arrested in Zimbabwe airport on 7
March. After the investigation the Equatorial Guinean authorities
accused all of them of plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea. Another
15 expatriates, six Armenians and nine Kazakhs, were later arrested on
the same charges. [Passage omitted: known details.]

The spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Gamlet Gasparyan, has
said that two out of seven South African citizens gave evidence today
and confirmed once again that the Armenian pilots were not involved in
the plot. It is still not known when the Armenian defendants will be
questioned.