Trial of Rolf Steiner, German Mercenary, in Sudan | August 1971 скачать в хорошем качестве

Trial of Rolf Steiner, German Mercenary, in Sudan | August 1971

Tuesday, August 3rd 1971. Footage of the second day of the trial in Khartoum, Sudan of the West German mercenary, Rolf Steiner. Steiner had been arrested in Uganda in November 1970, and extradited to Sudan in January 1971. He was charged with a general offence of "crimes against Africa" for his activities as a mercenary. The specific charges were: 1. Waging war against the Sudanese government. 2. Organising the recruitment of other mercenaries and collection of weapons. 3. Spreading malicious rumours. 4. Smuggling medicines and other drugs into the Sudan Steiner had been fighting with the Anyanya rebel forces, a south Sudanese militia active during the first Sudanese Civil War (1955-1972). He had quarrelled with an Anyanya leader and was en route to Europe when he was arrested in Uganda by the government of Milton Obote. 40-year-old Steiner, an ex-French Foreign Legionnaire, pleaded not guilty before the seven-man panel. He had been given three days to prepare his defence against the charges, which was punishable by the death. Steiner served as a paratrooper for the French forces which invaded Suez in 1956, in the northern part of Vietnam, and against the FLN in Algeria. In Algeria, he joined the right-wing O.A.S. (Organisation Armée Secrète) paramilitary group which sought to prevent France from giving independence to Algeria. He became a notorious figure for his service as a mercenary first for the Biafran side during the Nigerian Civil War and later for the South Sudanese rebels. He was expelled from Biafra after disagreements with officers of the secessionist army. He was sentenced to death after the trial in Khartoum. This was commuted to twenty years on "humanitarian" grounds". He was finally released from prison after pressure from the West German government. Source of footage: Reuters News.