6.11.2014

Thursday-Friday, June 11-12, 1964: Rivonia Trial



Photo from Agence France Presse. Caption: Eight men, among them anti-apartheid leader and African National Congress (ANC) member Nelson Mandela, sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia trial leave the Palace of Justice in Pretoria with their fists raised in defiance through the barred windows of the prison car. The eight men were accused of conspiracy, sabotage and treason. (Note: The AFP website says this photo was taken June 16, but the men had been transferred to Robben Island prison just after the sentencing.)

June 11
     Eight of nine defendants in South Africa's major treason trial were found guilty Thursday. A white defendant was acquitted. Among those convicted were African nationalist leaders Nelson Mandela, known as the "black pimpernel" for his feats in eluding police, and Walter Sisulu. The six Africans, two whites and one Indian had been on trial for several months. They were charged by the white supremist government of assisting in acts of sabotage in 1962 to prepare for guerrilla warfare and an invasion to overthrow the state. -- Associated Press (story: @)
     * "Nelson Mandela Found Guilty" (Australian Associated Press/Reuters): @

June 12
     All the eight men found guilty in the Rivonia Trial were sentenced to life imprisonment today. -- The World (Johannesburg newspaper; front page: @)

* "Rivonia Trial 1963-1964" (from South African History Online): @
* Trial summary (Douglas Linder, University of Missouri-Kansas City): @
* Entries from African National Congress website: @
* "1964: Nelson Mandela jailed for life" (BBC): @
* "Nelson Mandela: Prison Years" (Google Cultural Institute): @
* Summary, www.nelsonmandela.org: @
* Summary, NBC News: @
* "Rivonia: The Story of Accused No. 11" (Bob Hepple; from South African History Online: @ 

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