Political prisoners

Six leaders of the United Democratic Front and the South African Indian Congress entered the British consulate in Durban to avoid detention by the South African authorities in 1984. Three of them were immediately detained on leaving the consulate. This letter from Prime Minister Thatcher to the AAM’s Chair Bob Hughes MP defended the British government’s decision to bar access to the lawyers of the remaining three men. Five of the six were charged with high treason.

As resistance to apartheid grew in the 1980s more and more people were arrested and charged under South Africa’s draconian security laws. This pamphlet examined the apartheid legal system and showed how it was impossible for political prisoners to receive a fair trial.

Leaders of the United Democratic Front (UDF) were charged with treason in January 1986 in a trial that became known as the ‘Delmas trial’. They included ‘Terror’ Lekota and Popo Molefe, the UDF’s Publicity and General Secretary, and Frank Chikane. The trial dragged on until 1989, when their conviction was overturned on appeal.

The South African government tried to crush the township uprisings of 1984–86 by detaining thousands of protesters and charging a record number of people under its repressive legislation. In response Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) launched an emergency campaign focusing on death sentences, political trials, and convicted prisoners and detainees. Supporters were sent case-by-case information and suggestions for action.

The South African government tried to crush the township uprisings of 1984–86 by detaining thousands of protesters and charging a record number of people under its repressive legislation. This leaflet advertised a conference convened by Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) in December 1986 to mobilise support for its emergency campaign.

A new campaign for the release of South African and Namibian detainees was launched by Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) at a conference in December 1986. It highlighted the number of children imprisoned – 40 per cent of the 24,000 people detained in the six months after the June 1986 State of Emergency were under 18. This brochure set out the facts and figures behind the campaign. 

Altogether 30,000 South Africans were held in detention under the national State of Emergency imposed in June 1986. This leaflet promoted a petition launched with the backing of the British Council of Churches and the TUC and was signed by a third of a million people in Britain. It was presented to the South African authorities, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the UN Secretary-General on Human Rights Day, 10 December 1987.

Altogether 30,000 South Africans were held in detention under the national State of Emergency imposed in June 1986. This petition was launched with the backing of the British Council of Churches and the TUC and was signed by a third of a million people in Britain. It was presented to the South African authorities, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the UN Secretary-General on Human Rights Day, 10 December 1987.