This issue documents intensified repression in South Africa, Zimbabwe (Rhodesia), and Namibia. Topics include the banning of lawyers, new prison access restrictions, curbs on foreign legal funding, mass detentions including children, police torture, and the Mothopeng trial. Highlights include the death penalty for Solomon Mahlangu, the Kassinga massacre in Angola, the targeting of Catholic youth, and the rise in political prisoners. It also reports on secret detentions, attacks on educational groups, and the censorship of legal representation.
This issue covers intensifying repression in Namibia, including the introduction of tighter security measures in Ovamboland and Kaokoland, SWAPO detentions, torture reports, amnesty rejections, and detailed accounts of atrocities. A centerpiece is the testimony of Lucia Hamutenya, former SWAPO Legal Secretary, who recounts her arrest, torture, and hallucinations in detention. The issue also addresses continued political trials in South Africa, Pretoria prison conditions for political detainees, calls to free Mandela, a list of over 500 political prisoners, execution statistics, and the deportation of missionaries and conscientious objectors. Developments in the 'homeland' policy in Namibia and the impact on representative authorities are also critically analyzed.
This issue centers on the campaign to release Nelson Mandela, political trials involving ANC members, widespread detentions, prison conditions, and regional instability due to South African military incursions into Angola and Zambia. Key trials include those of James Mange, Renfrew Christie, and numerous ANC guerrillas. The issue details amnesties in Zimbabwe, restoration of study rights for political prisoners in South Africa, torture accounts of detained youth, and the banning of religious and civil society organizations in the Transkei. Also discussed are border attacks, military build-ups, and systematic pressure on frontline states.