Freed British coup-plotter says he regrets role

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (AP) — A British coup-plotter who has been freed in Equatorial Guinea says he is grateful for being pardoned by the government and regrets his role in the affair.

Simon Mann was released from prison Tuesday along with four South African mercenaries. They were given a presidential pardon for their part in a foreign-bankrolled conspiracy to overthrow the government and take over the country's oil riches.

Mann says he regrets what happened in 2004. "It was wrong and I am happy that we did not succeed," Mann said of the coup plot after his release.

Mann testified in court that U.S. and European governments knew of the plan in advance and welcomed it as did international oil companies operating in the Central African nation.