|
'Mercenary man' fined
01/08/2003
12:39 - (SA)
Pretoria - A French-born South African was sentenced to
five years in prison or a R 100 000 fine in Pretoria on Friday
after pleading guilty to involvement in mercenary activities
in Ivory Coast.
Richard Rouget, 44, a naturalised South African of French
origin, was also sentenced to a further five years, suspended
for five years, in the Pretoria Regional Court, on condition
that he was not found guilty of a similar offence during that
time.
He is the first person to be charged and convicted of
violating South Africa's Foreign Military Assistance Act,
aimed at curbing mercenary activity. The 1998 law prohibits
any citizen from participating in foreign conflicts without
government approval.
"The aim of the act is to discourage and deter people from
getting involved in these kinds of activities. I believe this
is a serious offence because it reflects on the values
enshrined in the constitution," magistrate Adriaan Bekker said
while handing down sentencing.
Ivory Coast, a former French colony that was once a model
of stability in west Africa, descended into civil war last
September, when renegade troops mainly from the predominantly
Muslim north staged a rebellion.
On July 4, the warring parties formally declared the war
over, after three erstwhile rebel groups joined a unity
government in line with a French-brokered peace accord reached
in January.
Rouget was arrested by the special investigating Scorpions
unit in Johannesburg on Saturday. He pleaded guilty to a
charge of participating in mercenary activities in Ivory Coast
between November 2002 and January 2003. Rouget recruited 12
South Africans including pilots and ground troops to
participate in mercenary acts in Ivory Coast.
The court heard that these South Africans had trained
members of the Ivory Coast military and were involved in a
number of combat actions for a payment of €6 000 (about R50
000) per month. -AFP
Discussion Forums - Have your say about this
article
| 
