New Zealander dies in Ivory Coast cell

Brian Hamish Sands

Rebels holding a Hawke's Bay man in war-torn Ivory Coast say he has been found dead in his cell.

Brian Hamish Sands, 36, was detained on March 11 by New Forces (FN) rebels in the divided West African nation and accused of plotting to kill their leaders.

The rebels claimed he was carrying body armour, navigational equipment and an address book filled with the names of members of the ruling Ivorian Popular Front, Government forces and mercenary supply outfits.

"He died during the night," in Korhogo in the far north, Amadou Kone, a top aide to FN leader Guillaume Soro told the AFP news agency by telephone from Bouake in the centre of the Ivory Coast.

"The body was found in his cell," Kone said. "I don't yet know the circumstances. But apparently, the death was of natural causes."

Kim Gordon-Bates, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Ivory Coast, told NZPA that the ICRC were alerted by local authorities to the existence of a "white body".

"We were notified of Mr Sand's death yesterday evening and we saw his body in the town of Korogho," he said.

Mr Gordon-Bates said that the country is divided in two, and the New Forces -- in control of the northern part -- notified the ICRC.

He said the Red Cross had visited Mr Sands on March 14 and March 31 while he was being held in Bouake.

"On Friday (April 1) he was transfered to Korogho," Mr Gordon-Bates said.

Mr Gordon-Bates said that the Red Cross had attempted to set up a visit with Mr Sands after he was moved to Korogho.

"We made the normal procedures to have access to him up north, yet this was denied.

"The next thing we knew we were notified of his death."

He said the Red Cross would only get further involved if they were asked to by all parties concerned.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Phil Goff said today there had been an early report that Mr Sands had committed suicide, and there was a third possibility of foul play.

The body had been transferred to a French hospital in Bouake, run by Medicins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders), but Mr Goff said the hospital had no pathologist.

Mr Sands had maintained his innocence, telling the British Ambassador to the Ivory Coast that he was not a mercenary contracted by the Ivory Coast Government to assassinate rebel leaders.

Two weeks ago, Mr Sands' sister, Catherine Sands-Wearing, said the ambassador had visited Mr Sands in his prison cell in Bouake and reported that he was in good health and was being treated "reasonably well".

He had given Mr Sands food and personal items, including a letter from Mrs Sands-Wearing.

Mrs Sands-Wearing told the Herald on March 23 that the family was encouraged by reports that the New Forces rebels had nearly completed their investigations and that a release was possible.

But Mr Sands' family said he had serious psychological problems and doubted whether there was any truth to the allegations that he was a mercenary.

They did not know what he was doing in Ivory Coast, which has been locked in a low-level civil war since September 2002.

The rebels told the Herald last month that they wanted documentation proving Mr Sands suffers psychological problems before considering his release. Mrs Sands-Wearing said this documentation had been provided, but would not give details of what it contained.

The rebels gave an assurance Mr Sands would not be executed.

Mr Sands had claimed to be a former Army captain but there was no record of him serving with the New Zealand Defence Force, Mr Goff said last month.

"It appears we cannot accept at face value all the claims that Mr Sands is alleged to have made to his captors, claims that would not help his current position," he said.

Mr Goff said the Government hoped his captors saw Mr Sands as someone suffering from mental health problems rather than a mercenary.

A statement released last month when Mr Sands was captured said he had told the rebels he had served in the French Foreign Legion between 1986 and 1994 and had been in contact with senior Ivorian government

Mr Sands did serve with the French Foreign Legion for 10 months but was dismissed for unpredictable and unstable actions, and heavy drinking, Mr Goff said last month.

Friends in Poland, where Mr Sands spent several years, told the Herald last month he had gone to Ivory Coast out of curiosity rather than with any sinister intent.

"Hamish has a 'let's go and do it' attitude. He is attracted to places that are off the beaten track, often regarded as not suitable for tourism," said Marek Rzewuski, who met Mr Sands in 1998 and spent several months sailing with him in the Mediterranean and Red Sea in 2000 and 2001.

Mr Rzewuski said Mr Sands was impulsive and this might have got him into trouble.

"Sometimes Hamish's curiosity and spontaneous actions are wrongly interpreted, but during the time I have known him, he has proved to be a sincere friend and a kind-hearted person."

Raphael Borun, who met Mr Sands in 1999, gave similar testimony. "He's temperamental, but at the same time he's good-natured. He's an honest person."

He did not think Mr Sands had serious psychological problems. Mr Sands had told him he was adopted and had a troubled relationship with his relatives in New Zealand.

Like Mr Rzewuski, Mr Borun believed it was curiosity that led Mr Sands to remote hotspots such as Sudan and now Ivory Coast.

"He probably just wanted to see for himself what was going on but certainly not to take part in any fighting."

- HERALD STAFF, AGENCIES