Equatorial Guinea coup attempt

Should western governments try to help the coup plotters (e.g. so that they serve their sentences elsewhere), or do they deserve what they got? If western governments supported the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, it would surely be hypocritical of them not to give these men some support.

Q&A: Equatorial Guinea coup plot
Simon Mann sentenced to 34 years for Equatorial Guinea coup plot
My friend Nick, the forgotten mercenary of the wonga coup
Focus: Thatcher and the dogs of war

Anybody who gets involved in a coup attempt even vaguely associated with Mark Thatcher needs their head examined.

depends whether you believe they've been stitched up or not.

Fabulous article that, the My Friend Nick one.

Makes you realise how close true brutality is to us all.

When I read that article, I wondered how a journalist could manage to not only get through that kind of experience but also remain sane afterwards. Even if he was just doing his job and bearing witness to what happened and logically couldn't do anything to stop it without getting himself killed too, you'd think that it would be difficult to shake off feeling, after he was back in a safe environment, that by choosing to go there and witness what happened he was somehow complicit.