June 17 (Reuters) - British mercenary Simon Mann went on trial in Equatorial Guinea on Tuesday accused of leading a failed coup against the oil-producing country in 2004.

Here is a chronology of the case:

March 7, 2004 - Zimbabwe seizes U.S.-registered cargo plane carrying 64 suspected mercenaries and a cargo of military gear.

March 8 - Some 15 suspected mercenaries are arrested in Equatorial Guinea. Most suspects in both groups are South African.

March 16 - Zimbabwe charges 70 suspected mercenaries with conspiring to murder Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

July 28 - Simon Mann, accused by Zimbabwe of leading the suspected mercenaries, pleads guilty to attempting to possess dangerous weapons.

Aug. 23 - Fourteen foreign suspected mercenaries and five Equatorial Guineans go on trial in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

Aug. 25 - South African police arrest Mark Thatcher, son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, on suspicion of involvement. He is released from house arrest on bail.

Aug. 27 - A Zimbabwe court finds Mann guilty of attempting to possess dangerous weapons and jails him for seven years.

Nov. 26 - Equatorial Guinea court convicts 11 foreigners and two local men. South African Nick Du Toit, alleged to have led an advance group of mercenaries, sentenced to 34 years in jail.

Jan. 13, 2005 - Thatcher pleads guilty to a role in the plot under a plea bargain agreement that allows him to avoid jail. He gets a four-year suspended jail sentence.

May 15 - Zimbabwe frees 62 South Africans more than a year after they were arrested, but South Africa says the following day it will charge them under its strict anti-mercenary laws.

Jan. 30, 2008 - Mann is deported to Equatorial Guinea from Zimbabwe to face coup plot charges after losing a legal appeal against extradition.

March 11 - Mann says he plotted to oust Equatorial Guinea's president, but the "swashbuckling" scheme failed.

March 30 - Guinea's public prosecutor says that Mann has testified that Mark Thatcher knew all about the plot.

June 17 - Mann goes on trial in Malabo.

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(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ )

(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; Additional writing by Jijo Jacob)

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