Apartheid was a form of segregation used in the Union of South Africa. It separated non Europeans from Europeans. In a country of approximately 30 million people, 5 million whites and 25 million blacks, the whites were much better off than the blacks. The whites had better public areas, schools, educational systems and all around a better life. Apartheid denied most human rights to all the blacks, including the right to vote, run for public office and the right to a fair trial.

The dreams that the group of eight men were involved in were ending apartheid, allow banned organizations, release all prisoners jailed without a trial, free all political prisoners.

Five of the eight men convicted at the Riviona Trial were released in 1989, including Walter Sisulu, Andrew Mlangeni 73, Raymond Mhlaba 78, Elias Motsoaledi 75 and Ahmed Kathrada 70.

nal Congress were tried in the Riviona Sabotage Trial, which took its name from the area near Johannesburg where Mandela's African National Congress colleagues were arrested in a police raid which took place in a farm house. They were charged with plotting sabotage to end white-minority rule, and blowing up power lines with home made explosives that often didn’t work. Many of the defendants, Mandela included, chose not to answer to the sabotage charges because they said that the ANC’s use of violence was an ultimate resort, after the Government rejected non-violent protest campaigns. It was said that many of the witnesses “lied shamelessly, purposefully and apparently to order.” Joel Joffe, one of the defense lawyers, said in an account of the trial that was never published that many of the witnesses were kept in solitary confinement. The prosecutor was a man named Percy Yutar. Joffe described Yutar as one who was fond of bogus hysteria and fake dramatics.

May 7, 1990 Jerusalem Post Sol Liebgott

February 6, 1990 Inter Press Service Eddie Koch

There was a great fear of the death penalty among all the men, said Arthur Chaskalson, who was one of the defense attorneys. They were not sure whether they would receive the death penalty until the day the trial was over. On June 12, 1964 the eight men were sentenced to life in prison by Quartus de Wet. de Wet said that keeping them from the gallows was the only leniency he could show. To follow the apartheid rule (whites and blacks had to have separate public buildings,) there was a prison for white people named Pretoria prison where Goldberg was and there was Robben Island prison where Mandela and all the black people went.

Some topics in this essay:
South African, Cape Town, Dennis Goldberg, National Congress, Europeans Europeans, Town Mandela, Arthur Chaskalson, Esme Goldberg, South Africans, Yutar Joffe, dennis goldberg, national congress, riviona sabotage, eight convicted, african national congress, african national, riviona sabotage trial, june 12, pretoria prison, cape town, south african, june 12 1964, eight convicted riviona, nelson mandela, october 11 1989,