Pan-Africanist Congress President Robert Sobukwe was detained after the Sharpeville massacre and sentenced to three years imprisonment. At the end of his sentence in May 1963 he was detained and held on Robben Island for a further six years. This leaflet publicises a meeting in the early 1960s calling for his release. The AAM also asked the International Commission of Jurists and the Red Cross to protest against his continued detention.

The Anti-Apartheid Movement launched an ‘Anti-Apartheid Month’ in November 1963 in response to increasing repression in South Africa and the arrest of Nelson Mandela and his comrades in July. Its three main demands were an end to arms sales to South Africa, asylum for political refugees and the release of political prisoners. Anti-apartheid meetings were held all over Britain during the month, most of them organised by university anti-racialist societies and addressed by recently arrived South African refugees like Joe Slovo.

Poster calling for the release of South African political prisoners, one of three campaign themes of the AAM’s Anti-Apartheid Month in November 1963. The other themes were arms sales to South Africa and protection for refugees.

Leaflet calling for the release of South African political prisoners distributed during the AAM’s  November 1963 Anti-Apartheid Month.

Caroline Motsoaledi was the wife of Andrew Motsoaledi, one of the accused in the Rivonia trial. She was held in detention and released without charge. This leaflet highlighted the situation of South African women who were arrested for questioning about their husband’s activities. Children were often left alone and uncared for when their parents were arrested.

The World Campaign for the Release of South African Political Prisoners was set up by the AAM in response to a UN General Assembly resolution passed on 11 October 1963 calling for the charges in the Rivonia trial to be dropped and the release of all South African political prisoners. The campaign circulated an international declaration calling for the release of Nelson Mandela and his co-accused. It was largely because of the international campaign that the death sentence was not imposed. This poster was part of the campaign.

Sticker produced as part of the AAM’s campaign to mobilise public opinion against the imposition of the death penalty in the trial of Nelson Mandela and his co-accused. The campaign played a big part in saving the lives of Mandela and the other Congress leaders.

This Declaration was signed by 160 world figures prominent in the arts, churches, academia, trade unions and politics. It called for the release of South African political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela and others arrested at Rivonia and PAC leader Robert Sobukwe. It was launched by the World Campaign for the Release of South African Political Prisoners, set up in response to a UN General Assembly resolution passed in October 1963.

The AAM organised a weekly vigil opposite the South African Embassy in the winter of 1963/64 during the trial of Nelson Mandela and his co-accused. Different groups – writers, actors, church people, politicians – took part each week. The campaign was run under the auspices of the World Campaign for the Release of South African Political Prisoners, set up in response to a UN General Assembly resolution passed in October 1963.

The AAM organised a weekly vigil opposite the South African Embassy in the winter of 1963/64 during the trial of Nelson Mandela and his co-accused. Different groups – writers, actors, church people, politicians – took part each week. The campaign was run under the auspices of the World Campaign for the Release of South African Political Prisoners, set up in response to a UN General Assembly resolution passed in October 1963.

In the 1960s the AAM used theatre to alert the British public to the increasing use of torture in South Africa. Actors like the National Theatre’s Robert Lang took part in this dramatised presentation of what it was like to be a political prisoner. Students from the University of London’s Society Against Racial Discrimination held a torchlight march to the event.

London students demonstrated in support of Nelson Mandela and other South African political prisoners in February 1964. This leaflet publicised a march preceding a dramatised presentation of prisoners’ lives organised by the World Campaign for the Release of South African Political Prisoners in Central Hall, Westminster. It was organised by University of London Union (ULU) Society Against Racial Discrimination. ULU later elected Nelson Mandela as its Honorary President.

This leaflet highlighted the death of Babla Saloojee, who was detained under the 90-day law, giving the South African police powers to hold political detainees for 90 days without trial. It quoted first-hand accounts of torture at the hands of the security police. The leaflet highlighted the sentencing of 44 people to death in 1963–64.

This petition was signed by nearly 200,000 people all over the world during the trial of Nelson Mandela and his co-accused in 1964. It was launched by the World Campaign for the Release of South African Political Prisoners, set up in response to a UN General Assembly resolution passed in October 1963. The campaign played a big part in preventing the death sentence being passed on the accused.

Five issues of this broadsheet were published by the World Campaign for the Release of South African Political Prisoners in 1964. The broadsheet reported on the world campaign to save the lives of Nelson Mandela and his co-accused in the Rivonia trial. The campaign played a big part in preventing the death sentence being passed on the accused.

Five issues of this broadsheet were published by the World Campaign for the Release of South African Political Prisoners in 1964. The broadsheet reported on the world campaign to save the lives of Nelson Mandela and his co-accused in the Rivonia trial. The campaign played a big part in preventing the death sentence being passed on the accused.

Five issues of this broadsheet were published by the World Campaign for the Release of South African Political Prisoners in 1964. The broadsheet reported on the world campaign to save the lives of Nelson Mandela and his co-accused in the Rivonia trial. The campaign played a big part in preventing the death sentence being passed on the accused.

Five issues of this broadsheet were published by the World Campaign for the Release of South African Political Prisoners in 1964. The broadsheet reported on the world campaign to save the lives of Nelson Mandela and his co-accused in the Rivonia trial. The campaign played a big part in preventing the death sentence being passed on the accused.

Five issues of this broadsheet were published by the World Campaign for the Release of South African Political Prisoners in 1964. The broadsheet reported on the world campaign to save the lives of Nelson Mandela and his co-accused in the Rivonia trial. The campaign played a big part in preventing the death sentence being passed on the accused.

This leaflet asked people to join a three-day vigil outside South Africa House when the verdict on the Rivonia accused was announced on Thursday 11 June 1964, followed by sentencing on the following day. It also advertised protests in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, Reading University and Ireland.

It was widely expected that Nelson Mandela and his co-accused in the Rivonia trial would be condemned to death. The campaign for their release was launched immediately after they were sentenced to life imprisonment in June 1964. This leaflet asked AAM supporters to write to the South African Ambassador and British Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home protesting against the sentence. 

It was widely expected that Nelson Mandela and his co-accused in the Rivonia trial would be condemned to death. The campaign for their release was launched immediately after they were sentenced to life imprisonment in June 1964. This poster was part of the publicity for the campaign. The AAM asked people to write to the South African Ambassador and British Prime Sir Alec Douglas-Home protesting against the life sentences.

In November 1964 the AAM launched a campaign calling for the release of political prisoners in South Africa. The campaign began with a poster parade around Trafalgar Square on 31 October, followed by a vigil every Saturday during the month, focusing on a different group of prisoners – students and teachers, churchmen, women and trade unionists. It culminated in a meeting in Central Hall, Westminster on 30 November.

Trade unionists at Ruskin College, Oxford organised a march from Oxford to London in 1969 as part of their campaign for the release of former Ruskin student David Kitson. Kitson was sentenced to 20 years gaol in 1964 for organising sabotage in South Africa.

In the early 1970s the Ruskin College Kitson Committee organised an annual march from Oxford to London over the Whitsun holiday. The group campaigned for the release of political prisoner David Kitson, a member of the trade union DATA, who was serving a 20-year sentence in South Africa. This leaflet publicising the march was printed just before the cancellation of the 1970 Springbok cricket tour.

In the early 1970s the Ruskin College Kitson Committee organised an annual march from Oxford to London over the Whitsun holiday. The group campaigned for the release of political prisoner and former trade unionist David Kitson, serving a 20-year sentence in South Africa. The 1970 march ended in a rally in Trafalgar Square at which trade union leaders asked workers to refuse to work on arms for South Africa. The photo shows the marchers setting off from High Street, Oxford. 

On 25 August 1970 anti-apartheid activists infiltrated the South African Embassy in London and sat in its entrance hall until they were ejected by embassy officials. They were protesting at the trial in Pretoria of 20 South Africans on charges of belonging to the ANC. The 20 included Winnie Mandela and Benjamin Ramotse, who was later sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.

In February 1971 the AAM set up a special committee to campaign for political prisoners and detainees. It called on the South African government to include political prisoners in the amnesty announced to mark the tenth anniversary of the republic. This poster was produced for the campaign. The prisoners shown include Nelson Mandela, Bram Fischer and Dorothy Nyembe.

Pamphlet documenting the use of torture in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. The pamphlet shows how the apartheid legal system was used as window-dressing for a totalitarian regime and covers key trials in the early 1970s, including that of Winnie Mandela. It was published by the International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF) and distributed by the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

Leaflet publicising a 24-hour vigil held on 1–2 August 1971 to protest against the trials of Rev Gonville ffrench-Beytagh, Anglican Dean of Johannesburg and of 14 members of the South African Unity Movement. All the accused told the court they had been tortured. Thirteen of the Unity Movement members were found guilty of offences under the Terrorism Act and sentenced to prison terms on Robben Island. At the same time, the Dean of Johannesburg was charged with helping the families of political prisoners. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment, but released on appeal.

The AAM held a 24-hour vigil outside South Africa House on 1–2 August 1971 to protest against the trials of Rev Gonville ffrench-Beytagh, Anglican Dean of Johannesburg, and 14 members of the South African Unity Movement. All the accused told the court they had been tortured. Thirteen of the Unity Movement members were found guilty of offences under the Terrorism Act and sentenced to prison terms on Robben Island. At the same time, the Dean of Johannesburg was charged under the Terrorism Act with helping the families of political prisoners. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment, but later released on appeal. In the photo is Canon John Collins, first Chairman of the Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa.

This protester was one of a group of around 30 people who infiltrated the South African Embassy in London to protest against the death of Ahmed Timol. Timol was killed in detention by South African security police on 27 October 1971. His death provoked widespread protests in Britain. He was a former teacher and British teaching unions joined the protests. Ahmed Timol was the 20th political detainee known to have died in police custody.

Hull University Students Union appointed South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) leader Hermann Toivo ja Toivo as its Honorary Vice-President in the early 1970s. Toivo was serving a 20-year prison sentence on Robben Island.

South African lawyer Joel Carlson exposed the sham of South Africa’s legal system at a meeting at University College, London on 31 May 1973. Also on the platform were Labour MP Michael Foot (left), who said the Labour Party was considering calling for an end to new British investment in South Africa, and the Chair and Hon. Secretary of the AAM, John Ennals and Abdul Minty.

Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) was a coalition that worked for the release of political prisoners in Southern Africa. Its founding conference, attended by 200 people on 8 December 1973, split into workshops like the one in the photograph addressed by former political prisoner Hugh Lewin. The conference set up a campaign that brought together the AAM, International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF), National Union of Students, and the Ruskin and AUEW (TASS) Kitson Committees. For the next 20 years SATIS worked on behalf of Southern African political prisoners and for the release of all those detained without trial. In the 1980s it led campaigns to save the lives of political activists sentenced to death by the apartheid government.

Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) was a coalition that worked for the release of political prisoners in Southern Africa. Two hundred people attended its founding conference on 8 December 1973. The conference focused on South Africa, but for the next 20 years it campaigned on behalf of prisoners in all the white-dominated countries of Southern Africa. In the 1980s it led campaigns to save the lives of political activists sentenced to death by the apartheid government.

Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) was a coalition that worked for the release of political prisoners in Southern Africa. Two hundred people attended its founding conference on 8 December 1973. They set up a campaign that brought together the AAM, IDAF, National Union of Students and the Ruskin and AUEW (TASS) Kitson Committees. For the next 20 years SATIS worked on behalf of political prisoners and for the release of all those detained without trial. In the 1980s it led campaigns to save the lives of political activists sentenced to death by the apartheid government.

Poster produced by Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) soon after its launch on 8 December 1973. SATIS was set up by the AAM, International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF), National Union of Students, the AUEW (TASS) and Ruskin Kitson Committees and London Trades Council. It campaigned on behalf of political prisoners throughout Southern Africa for the following 20 years.

This petition was one of the first initiatives of Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS), set up by the AAM, International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF), National Union of Students, and Ruskin College and AUEW (TASS) Kitson Committees in December 1973. SATIS also asked supporters to adopt individual prisoners and organised a series of vigils on the steps of St Martin’s-in-the-Fields. The petition was signed by over 30,000 people and presented to the Chair of the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid at the AAM’s Freedom Convention on 30 June 1974.

AAM supporters held a 24-hour vigil on the steps of St Martin’s in the Fields on Good Friday, 11–12 April 1974 to call for the release of all South African political prisoners. They collected over 2,500 signatures for a petition to be presented to the UN in June. The vigil and petition were part of the campaign launched by Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) at its founding conference in December 1973. In the photograph are Kay Hosey, mother of political prisoner Sean Hosey, and Rev Paul Oestreicher.

The AAM celebrated its 15th anniversary with a ‘Freedom Convention’ at Camden Lock, London on 30 June 1974. Stalls displayed information about South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Portugal’s African colonies. A petition for the release of South African prisoners with 30,000 signatures was presented to Nigeria’s UN Ambassador Edwin Ogbu, Chair of the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid. The Convention also highlighted the call for a boycott of all South African products.

The AAM celebrated its fifteenth anniversary with a ‘Freedom Convention’ at Camden Lock, London on 30 June 1974. Stalls displayed information about South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Portugal’s African colonies. A petition for the release of South African prisoners with 30,000 signatures was presented to Nigeria’s UN Ambassador Edwin Ogbu, Chair of the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid. The Convention also highlighted the call for a boycott of all South African products.

South African former political prisoners took part in a walk from London to Manchester, 27 October–6 November 1974. They held meetings along the way to publicise the situation of political prisoners. In the photograph the marchers are leaving Banbury, where they were met by Labour councillors and held a meeting in the Town Hall.

US civil rights leader and former prisoner Angela Davis visited London to campaign for South African political prisoners, 10–13 December 1974. She spoke at a meeting at Friends House organised by the AAM, International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF) and Liberation. She said black Americans felt a special responsibility to support the struggle of their sisters and brothers in Southern Africa. On the right is future Labour Cabinet Minister Charles Clarke.

In the early 1970s AAM local groups adopted individual South African political prisoners and campaigned on their behalf. West London AA Group took up the case of Ahmed Kathrada, sentenced to life imprisonment at the Rivonia trial in 1964. Kathrada spent 25 years in prison and was released in November 1989.

Letter from AAM Executive Secretary Basil Manning, written on behalf of Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS), to Foreign Secretary James Callaghan, asking the British government to send observers to the trial of black consciousness movement leaders in South Africa in 1975.

In the mid-1970s students became the focus of opposition in South Africa, many of them supporters of the black consciousness movement. This leaflet highlighted the case of nine SASO members charged under the Terrorism Act. It also called for the release of NUSAS President Karel Tip.

AAM supporters picketed South Africa in solidarity with 13 SASO (South African Student Organisation) and BPC (Black People’s Convention) leaders on trial in Pretoria, on 21 April 1975. They were joined by marchers who had walked from Brighton to raise money for SATIS (Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society).

Bram Fischer was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1966 for conspiring to commit sabotage and membership of the South African Communist Party. In 1963–64 he led the defence team at the trial of Nelson Mandela and his co-accused. The following year he went underground to keep anti-apartheid resistance alive within South Africa. The South African government refused to release him until a few days before his death from cancer on 8 May 1975. More than 300 people people gathered to honour him outside South Africa House.

Anti-apartheid supporters picketed South Africa House calling for the release of all those detained without trial in South Africa in August 1975. They were protesting at the resumption of the trial of members of the South African Students Organisation (SASO) and the Black People’s Convention (BPC), which opened in April 1975 and the detention of six more people, including Afrikaans poet Breyten Breytenbach. On the left is former political prisoner Ben Turok. 

AAM demonstrators picketed South Africa House in August 1975 to protest against continuing detentions without trial in South Africa, including that of the Afrikaans poet Breyten Breytenbach. They also called for the release of the nine leaders of the South African Student Organisation (SASO) and Black People’s Convention (BPC) leaders on trial under the Terrorism Act.

Programme for an evening of music and readings to mark Human Rights Day, 10 December 1975, and raise funds for campaigns for Southern African political prisoners. Among the performers were actor Ian McKellen and South African saxophonist Dudu Pukwana.

Former Robben Island prisoner Joseph Mdluli was killed by South African Security Police on 19 March 1976, the day after he was detained under the Terrorism Act. This picket was part of a three-day protest outside South Africa House, 7–9 April. Demonstrators carried placards with the names of the 23 other people known to have died in detention. In the mid-1970s there was a big increase in the number of South Africans detained without trial.

Joseph Mdluli was an anti-apartheid activist who died within 24 hours of his arrest by the South African Security Police. He was the 24th detainee known to have died in detention. This leaflet advertised a picket of the South African Embassy to protest against police torture and call for the release of all South African political prisoners.

Former Robben Island prisoner Joseph Mdluli was killed by South African Security Police on 19 March 1976, the day after he was detained under the Terrorism Act. This picket by 300 ANC and AAM supporters on 9 April was the climax of a three-day protest against his death outside South Africa House. In the photograph are Bishops Richard Wood and Colin Winter.

British actors, including Sheila Hancock, Albert Finney, Robert Morley, Kenneth Williams and Kenneth Haigh, handed in a letter to South Africa House on 13 October 1976. They were calling for the release of South African actors John Kani and Winston Tshona. Other signatories were Dame Peggy Ashcroft and playwrights David Hare and Howard Brenton. 

Sheila Hancock and Albert Finney hand in a letter to South Africa House on 13 October 1976, calling for the release of South African actors John Kani and Winston Tshona. Other signatories were Dame Peggy Ashcroft and playwrights David Hare and Howard Brenton. 

Students protested outside the South African Embassy on 20 October 1976 against the deaths of four more detainees in South Africa. A deputation later delivered a letter signed by National Union of Students and National Union of School Students Presidents Charles Clarke and Dan Hopewell to Prime Minister James Callaghan, asking him to make representations to the South African government. The four murdered detainees included three students and an unnamed man who died in police custody in Carletonville, west of Johannesburg.

In the mid-1970s there was a big increase in the number of detainees tortured to death by the South African security police. In 1977 Steve Biko was the 46th detainee known to have died in police custody. This poster was one of a set of three published as part of the international campaign for South African political prisoners.

This poster features a photograph of Joseph Mdluli, an ANC activist killed by Security Police after being detained without trial in March 1976. In the mid-1970s there was a big increase in the number of detainees tortured to death. Daily pickets were held outside South Africa House in London for six weeks in May–June 1976 to protest against the deaths. This poster was one of a set of three published as part of the international campaign for the release of South African political prisoners.

This poster was one of a set of three published as part of the international campaign for South African political prisoners.

Poster for the international campaign for the release of South African political prisoners. It shows prisoners breaking rocks on Robben Island.

Poster publicising the campaign for 12 South Africans charged under the Terrorism Act in June 1977. The 12 were charged with recruiting people for military training and organising sabotage attacks. After an international campaign for their release, six were acquitted and six were sentenced to long jail terms in April 1978. Among those sentenced was Tokyo Sexwale, who had left South Africa for military training and infiltrated back into South Africa. 

Participants in a conference on Repression in Southern Africa organised by the AAM and Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) on 16 April 1977. Specialist groups discussed campaigning among lawyers, trade unionists, students, church people and journalists. Two groups focused on Zimbabwe and Namibia. Left to right: Rev Cecil Begbie, Nkosazana Dlamini, Horst Kleinschmidt, SWAPO representative Shapua Kaukungua and ZAPU representative Arthur Chadzingwa.

In the year after the 1976 Soweto student uprising, many more people were detained by the South African police and brutally tortured. On 18 August 1977, as the number of people who died in detention continued to rise, a poster parade around Trafalgar Square was organised by Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS). The parade was attended by over 300 people and successfully publicised the plight of those interned in detention centres and gaols in South Africa. 

Anti-apartheid protesters picketed the South African Embassy on 11 October 1977, UN Day for Southern African political prisoners. They collected signatures for an international petition calling for the release of the Pretoria 12, 11 men and one woman charged under the Terrorism Act with recruiting people to undergo military training. The 12 included ANC veterans and students who had joined Umkhonto we Sizwe after the 1976 Soweto uprising. Eventually six were sentenced to long jail sentences and six were acquitted.

Anti-apartheid women supporters demanded an end to police harassment of Winnie Mandela at a demonstration at South Africa House on 9 February, 1978. She was charged with breaking the banning order that confined her to Brandfort, an African township outside Bloemfontein.

Leaflet publicising a memorial service for Steve Biko on 12 September 1978, the first anniversary of his death. Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) hung a banner from the roof of St Martin’s in the Fields, next to the South African Embassy, listing the names of all those who had died in detention in South Africa.

On the first anniversary of the death of Steve Biko on 12 September 1978, Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) unfurled a 90-foot banner from the roof of St Martin’s in the Fields. It listed the names of all those known to have died under interrogation by the South African Security Police. Inside the church a special service commemorated Steve Biko’s life.

Black consciousness leader Steve Biko was the 46th South African political prisoner known to have died in detention. In spite of the international outcry at his death in 1977, more detainees were tortured to death in the following years. This leaflet asked people in Britain to support the international campaign against police torture.

ANC women picketed South Africa House to demand freedom for all women political prisoners on 7 March 1979, the eve of International Women's Day. They also called for the release of Solomon Mahlangu. In the photo are former political prisoner Dulcie September and ANC Women’s Section members Ramnie Dinat and Teresa Nannan.

In 1979 political prisoners Tim Jenkin, Alex Moumbaris and Stephen Lee escaped from Pretoria Central Prison. This photograph shows the three with ANC representative Francis Meli at a press conference in London on 22 January 1980.

In 1964 David Kitson was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for sabotage. In the late 1950s he worked as a draughtsman in Britain and was a member of the trade union DATA, later TASS. As soon as it heard of his arrest, the union formed the Free Dave Kitson Committee. For the next 20 years TASS campaigned for his release and helped support his family. David Kitson served his full sentence and was freed in 1984.

On 4 May 1978 South African troops massacred over 600 Namibian refugees at Kassinga in southern Angola. After the massacre hundreds of Namibians were abducted from refugee transit centres in southern Angola and around 130 of them were detained indefinitely at a South African military base in northern Namibia. Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) and the Namibia Support Committee campaigned for their release. These postcards called on the South African government to free them and asked the British Foreign Secretary and UN Secretary General to intervene. The detainees were eventually released in 1984.

Women played a big role in the liberation struggles in Namibia and Zimbabwe, as well as in South Africa. This pamphlet tells the stories of Southern African women who were imprisoned and banned because they fought back against apartheid and racism. It was published by the International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF) and distributed by the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

Oscar Mpetha was a South African trade union leader and founder member of SACTU (South African Congress of Trade Unions). In 1980 he was arrested after taking part in protests in Nyanga, Cape town, in which two people were killed. This leaflet asked AAM supporters to picket South Africa House on the opening day of his trial. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment and eventually released in 1989 soon after his 80th birthday.

British trade unionists protested outside South Africa House on the first day of the trial of veteran South African trade unionist Oscar Mpetha on 3 March 1981. After a long trial Mpetha was sentenced to five years imprisonment. He was released in 1989 soon after his 80th birthday. In the picture is Bill Rampton from the train drivers union ASLEF, with the banner of the committee set up by the draughtsmen’s trade union AUEW (TASS) to support its former member, political prisoner David Kitson.

British trade unionists protested outside South Africa House in London on the first day of the trial of veteran South African trade unionist Oscar Mpetha on 3 March 1981. After a long trial Mpetha was sentenced to five years imprisonment. He was released in 1989 soon after his 80th birthday. Left to right: General Secretaries Jack Boddy from the Agricultural Workers Union, Alan Sapper from the film technicians union ACTT and Stan Pemberton, President of the Transport and General Workers Union.

Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) marked the UN Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners on 11 October 1981 with a vigil on the steps of St Martin’s in the Fields. The vigil protested at the repression of the South African trade union movement and called for the release of veteran trade unionist Oscar Mpetha.

In January 1982 Steven Kitson was detained by the South African security police when he travelled to South Africa to visit his father David Kitson in prison in Pretoria. David Kitson was serving a 20-year sentence for sabotage. Steven’s mother Norma Kitson and sister Amandla protested outside the South African Embassy in London demanding his release. Steven was threatened by the security police and eventually freed.

Students from King’s College, London blocked the entrance to the government-owned South African Airways at Oxford Circus on 10 February 1982 in protest against the death in detention of South African trade unionist Neil Aggett.

British trade unionists picketed South Africa House on May 11 1982 calling for the release of three leaders of the South African Agricultural Workers Union detained without trial. Left to right: Roger Ward from the draughtsmen’s union TASS, Muriel Turner from the clerical union ASTMS and ASTMS General Secretary, Clive Jenkins.

SATIS-ACTION was a scheme that alerted subscribers to new political trials and death sentences in South Africa and Namibia. Supporters were asked to send letters and telegrams to the South African government and to ask the British government to intervene.

Members of City of London Anti-Apartheid Group call for the release of South African political prisoner David Kitson. The Group launched a non-stop picket of South Africa House in August 1982. Kitson served 20 years imprisonment in South Africa and was released in 1984. In the picture on the right are David Kitson’s wife Norma Kitson and son Steve.

Leaflet publicising a march through the centre of Glasgow to call for the release of all South African and Namibian political prisoners.

Set of six postcards designed by Ken Sprague calling for the release of South African and Namibian political prisoners.

One of many posters published by the Anti-Apartheid Movement to publicise the campaign for the release of political prisoners in South Africa and Namibia.

Leaflet asking AAM supporters to protest outside the South African Embassy on the opening day of the trial of Albertina Sisulu in 1983.

Letter from Malcolm Rifkind, Minister of State at the Foreign Office, replying to a request from Des Starrs, Chair of Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS), for the British government to intervene on behalf of the Kassinga detainees. In 1978 South African armed forces killed around 600 Namibian refugees at Kassinga refugee camp in Angola and took hundreds more prisoner. Five years later some of them were still held in detention in Namibia. Malcolm Rifkind turned down the request for a meeting on the grounds that he had already met an AAM delegation to discuss repression in the Ciskei.

Namibia Support Committee protesters called for the recognition of SWAPO freedom fighters Sam Mundjindji and Veiko Nghitewa as prisoners of war. The protest marked the opening of their trial on 5 February 1984. The two men had been subject to months of torture and solitary confinement. They were eventually released in July 1989 in the run-up to Namibian independence.

David Kitson reunited with his wife Norma on his arrival in London after his release from Pretoria Central prison in June 1984. In 1964 Kitson was convicted of sabotage and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. 

David Kitson speaking at a press conference arranged by the AAM after his release from prison in June 1984. In 1964 Kitson was convicted of sabotage and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. He served the full 20-year term. In Britain the draughtsmen’s union, AUEW-TASS, which Kitson joined when he was working in Britain in the 1950s, and Ruskin College, Oxford, where he studied on a union scholarship, both campaigned for his release. Left to right: David Kitson, AAM Chair Bob Hughes MP, AAM staff member Cate Clark.

1984 was designated the Year of the Women by the African National Congress. This meeting in Hampstead Town Hall, organised by Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS), the AAM Women’s Committee and SWAPO Women’s Solidaity Campaign, was one of the events held to mark the year. It highlighted the harsh conditions suffered by South African and Namibian women political prisoners.

In August 1984 the South African government detained the leaders of the United Democratic Front (UDF). The UDF organised a boycott of the segregated elections held under South Africa’s new constitution. After being temporarily freed, six of the detainees took refuge in the British consulate in Durban. Students in Britain picketed the South African embassy to demand safe passage for the detainees.

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.

Poster publicising a petition calling for the release of South African detainees launched in 1987. Altogether 30,000 South Africans were held in detention under the national State of Emergency imposed in June 1986. The petition was supported by 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.

The Scottish Namibia Committee was set up in the 1980s to campaign In support of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO). This petition called attention to the brutality with which Namibian political prisoners were treated. It urged the British government to intervene with the apartheid government for their release.

The memorial meeting for Steve Biko held on Sunday 13 September 1987 marked the tenth anniversary of his death in detention. A packed congregation at Notting Hill Methodist Church in west London heard readings by Muslims, Jews and Christians and an address by Barney Pityana. The event was organised by the AAM’s Multi-Faith Committee and SATIS (Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society).

Letter from Reading Anti-Apartheid Campaign to local trade union branches advertising a meeting calling for the release of South African political prisoners.

Reading Anti-Apartheid Campaign leaflet asking local people to take action in support of the campaigns for the reprieve of the Sharpeville Six, sentenced to death in South Africa, and the release of trade unionist Moses Mayekiso, one of five people charged with sedition. The leaflet also advertised the Shell boycott and the AAM’s national ‘Sanctions Now!’ demonstration on 24 October 1987.

Children held cards remembering young detainees in South Africa on a march organised by Wales AAM in Cardiff on 24 October 1987. In Sophia Gardens, ANC representative Thando Zuma said the apartheid regime had imprisoned 8,000 young people without charge in the previous 18 months.

Musicians Little Steven and Jerry Dammers sign the SATIS petition calling for the release of detainees in South Africa. Altogether 30,000 South Africans were held in detention under the national State of Emergency imposed in June 1986. The petition was supported by 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.

A petition for the release of all apartheid detainees was delivered to Prime Minister Thatcher on Human Rights Day 10 December 1987 by a  delegation led by AAM President Trevor Huddleston and trade union leader Clive Jenkins. Among the thousands of signatories were the archbishops of Canterbury and York, the leaders of all three British opposition parties and celebrities from the world of the arts like Peggy Ashcroft and Tom Stoppard.

The special police unit Koevoet was known for its extreme brutality perpetrated on captured Namibian freedom fighters. This leaflet publicised the case of eight supporters of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) charged under the Terrorism Act and tortured to force them to confess to the charges.

Jason Angula, Labour Secretary of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), was detained without trial in October 1987. British civil service unions campaigned for his release, together with the Joint Campaign Against the Repression of Trade Unionists. Angula was released at the end of 1988.

In February 1988 the AAM Trade Union Committee and Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) launched a Joint Campaign against the Repression of Trade Unionists in South Africa and Namibia. The campaign was a response to the increased repression of trade unionists by the apartheid regime. Four trade union leaders were sentenced to death and hundreds were detained. This leaflet publicised a demonstration at the South African Embassy, attended by over 200 trade unionists.

Oscar Mpetha was a South African trade union leader and founder member of SACTU (South African Congress of Trade Unions). In 1980 he was arrested after taking part in protests in Nyanga, Cape Town, in which two people were killed. After a long trial he was sentenced to five years imprisonment. He was eventually released in 1989 soon after his 80th birthday. 

Oscar Mpetha was a South African trade union leader and founder member of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU). In 1980 he was arrested after taking part in protests in Nyanga, Cape Town, in which two people were killed. After a long trial he was sentenced to five years imprisonment and eventually released in 1989 soon after his 80th birthday. This leaflet was produced by the AAM and the British Transport and General Workers Union.

Repression of trade unionists intensified from the end of 1987, with four union activists held on death row. On 1 February 1988 the AAM and SATIS launched the Joint Campaign against the Repression of Trade Unionists at a demonstration outside South Africa House that coincided with the reopening of the trial of NUMSA General Secretary Moses Mayekiso. In the following months most British trade unions launched their own actions, including the National Union of Mineworkers’ petition for the release of three South African mineworkers sentenced to hang. The petition was signed by over 30,000 people in Britain’s coalfield communities.

Leaflet publicising a memorial meeting for Steve Biko and a collection for South African refugees.

In 1988 the apartheid regime stepped up its repression of the South African trade union movement. This leaflet highlighted four cases where trade unionists were detained or put on trial. It also publicised the situation of trade unionists in Namibia.

Leaflet advertising a meeting on South African and Namibian political prisoners on 11 October, the day designated by the UN as a day of solidarity with Southern African political prisoners.

Poster advertising a meeting about South African and Namibian political prisoners on 11 October, the day designated by the UN as a day of solidarity with Southern African political prisoners.

The Alex Five were civic leaders in Alexandra Township charged with sedition after they set up the Alexandra Action Committee. One of the five was trade union leader Moses Mayekiso. 5,000 of these postcards were distributed in Britain with support from the British Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions. After a long trial the five were acquitted in April 1989. The TUC sent an observer to the trial.

Early in 1989 more than 300 South African detainees went on hunger strike in protest against their detention without trial. Altogether over 1,000 people were held without charge, some of them for over two years. AAM and ANC supporters held a vigil outside South Africa House. Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) asked British Foreign Office Minister Lynda Chalker to tell the South African ambassador that his government must release the detainees.

Early in 1989 more than 300 South African detainees went on hunger strike in protest against their detention without trial. Altogether over 1,000 people were held without charge, some of them for over two years. AAM and ANC supporters held a solidarity vigil outside South Africa House and Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society asked British Foreign Office Minister Lynda Chalker to tell the South African ambassador that his government must release the detainees.

Early in 1989 more than 300 South African detainees went on hunger strike in protest against their detention without trial. Altogether over 1,000 people were held without charge, some of them for over two years. The ANC held a solidarity vigil outside South Africa House and Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society asked British Foreign Office Minister Lynda Chalker to tell the South African ambassador that his government must release the detainees. 

Early in 1990 the AAM joined with the ANC and other organisations to set up a British Nelson Mandela Reception Committee, convened by AAM President Trevor Huddleston. As well as celebrating Mandela’s freedom, the Committee called for the release of all South African political prisoners and the creation of conditions for negotiations for a new democratic constitution. This leaflet publicised a demonstration at the South African Embassy to coincide with President de Klerk’s expected announcement of the date of Mandela’s release.

Programme for a conference on trade unions in South Africa held on 24 February 1990. After the banning of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in 1988, the trade union movement led the opposition to apartheid. The conference mobilised support for trade unionists who had been arrested and detained.

Leaflet advertising a picket of South Africa House on International Women’s Day, 1990. South Africa continued to hold hundreds of political prisoners and detainees, including many women, after the release of Nelson Mandela in February 1990. The campaign for the release of all political prisoners was one of the priorities of the AAM in the early 1990s.

On 11 October 1990, designated as UN South African Political Prisoners Day, Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) held a vigil outside the British Foreign Office calling for the release of all South African political prisoners. SATIS asked the British Prime Minister to press President de Klerk to implement his pledge to free the prisoners.

Demonstrators told President de Klerk he must honour his promise to free all political prisoners by the 30 April deadline agreed with the ANC, as he arrived for a reception at the South African Embassy in April 1991.

The South African government failed to honour the agreement it signed with the ANC in August 1990 to release all political prisoners, and at least 284 were still in prison in June 1991. The AAM campaigned to ensure that the prisoners were not forgotten and for freedom for all political prisoners.

Leaflet publicising a public meeting in April 1991 highlighting the continued imprisonment and detention of political prisoners in South Africa.

The AAM Women’s Committee campaigned to ensure that individual women political prisoners were not forgotten. This leaflet gave details of the sentences of six women prisoners and asked people to write to the South African ambassador in London, the British Foreign Secretary and the British Red Cross calling for their release.

This T-shirt was produced in several colours, including turquoise and deep pink.

South Africa imprisoned large numbers of Africans for offences such as failing to carry their pass. This leaflet argued that all South African prisoners convicted under apartheid laws were political prisoners.

Sir Geoffrey Bindman is a lawyer and was Chair of Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS ). SATIS publicised political trials, called for the release of those detained without trial and mobilised public opinion against the hanging of political prisoners.It campaigned for the release of thousands of anti-apartheid activists, including many children, detained under the States of Emergency imposed in the mid-1980s.

This is a complete transcript of an interview carried out as part of the Forward to Freedom AAM history project in 2013.

Sir Geoffrey Bindman is a lawyer and was Chair of Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS ). SATIS publicised political trials, called for the release of those detained without trial and mobilised public opinion against the hanging of political prisoners.It campaigned for the release of thousands of anti-apartheid activists, including many children, detained under the States of Emergency imposed in the mid-1980s.

In this clip Sir Geoffrey describes his experience of investigating the legal aspects of apartheid and visiting political prisoners in South Africa.

Jack Jones was the General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, 1968–78, and Chair of the TUC International Committee. He fought in the British Battalion of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil war in 1936 and campaigned in the trade union movement against the dictatorships in Spain, Greece and Chile. Jack Jones was a Vice President of the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

In this clip Jack Jones describes how tried to visit David Kitson in prison in Pretoria, and managed to secretly pass him a message of support.

Richard Caborn was the Labour MP for Sheffield Central, 1983–2010, and Minister for Sport, 2001–2007. He joined the Anti-Apartheid Movement when he was a trade union official in the 1970s and was a founder member of Sheffield Anti-Apartheid Group. He served as the Anti-Apartheid Movement’s national Treasurer, 1989–1994. In 1984 he became Secretary of the all-party parliamentary group on Southern Africa.

In this clip Richard Caborn tells how the parliamentary group on Southern Africa used a sympathetic Conservative intermediary to make representations to Prime Minister Thatcher about political prisoners on death row.