16 S. African Blacks on Trial for Treason
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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Sixteen leading black dissidents went on trial for high treason today in South Africa’s biggest political proceeding since black activist Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment 21 years ago.
At the same time, Law and Order Minister Louis le Grange extended the two-week jail terms of 1,319 people--most of them blacks--arrested and held without charges under the 16-day-old state of emergency.
Under the state of emergency, authorities can detain people for renewable periods of up to two weeks.
Expected to Last a Year
The trial of the 16 black dissidents that began in Pietermaritzburg, about 300 miles southeast of Johannesburg, is expected to last about a year and involve more than 162 police witnesses.
The dissidents, all members of the black opposition United Democratic Front, include joint presidents Archie Gumede, 72, and Albertina Sisulu, 62, wife of convicted African National Congress activist Walter Sisulu.
Armed police with dogs sealed off roads around the courtroom as the defendants appeared.
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