What South African island was used as a gaol for political prisoners while the country was under the policy of apartheid?
"Billy Nair Billy Nair (27 November 1929 – 23 October 2008) was a South African politician, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa, an anti-apartheid activist and a political prisoner in Robben Island. Nair was a long-serving political prisoner on Robben Island along with Nelson Mandela in the 'B' Block for political prisoners. His Prison card is the copy used in the post-reconciliation prison tours to illustrate the conditions of the prisoners of the time. He was elected to the African National Congress (ANC) executive committee in 1991 and was a South African member of parliament for two"
"gone on to become President of South Africa: Nelson Mandela, Kgalema Motlanthe, and Jacob Zuma. Robben Island is a South African National Heritage Site as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since the end of the 17th century, Robben Island has been used for the isolation of mainly political prisoners. The Dutch settlers were the first to use Robben Island as a prison. Its first prisoner was probably Autshumato in the mid-17th century. Among its early permanent inhabitants were political leaders from various Dutch colonies, including Indonesia, and the leader of the mutiny on the slave ship ""Meermin"". After"
"Robben Island Robben Island () is an island in Table Bay, west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for ""seal island."" Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, long north-south, and wide, with an area of . It is flat and only a few metres above sea level, as a result of an ancient erosion event. Nobel Laureate and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there for 18 of the 27 years he served behind bars before the fall of apartheid. To date, three former inmates of Robben Island have"
"those deemed ""anti-establishment"" and those who simply violated the pass laws of the time. Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned here in 1906. Nelson Mandela, Joe Slovo, Bram Fischer, Albert Lutuli and Robert Sobukwe are some of its famous prisoners.For this reason it was also called <nowiki>""The Robben Island of Johannesburg""</nowiki> due to how infamous it became as a result of holding these political prisoners. The site housed prisoners until 1983, when it was closed. Activists were usually held as awaiting trial prisoners and then sent off to Robben Island or Pretoria to serve jail terms. Brewing beer – an illegal activity"
"Pretoria Central Prison Pretoria Central Prison (official name: Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre) is a large prison in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa, operated by the South African Department of Correctional Services. The prison was the official site of capital punishment in South Africa during the apartheid era. Condemned prisoners were held in a section of the prison called ""The Pot"". It further held white political prisoners, separated from black political prisoners who were held in Robben Island. At one time, the prison gallows could hang up to 7 people at a time. The remand centre is in the front of"
"The Island (play) The Island is a play written by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona. The apartheid-era drama, inspired by a true story, is set in an unnamed prison clearly based on South Africa's notorious Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held for twenty-seven years. It focuses on two cellmates, one whose successful appeal means that his release draws near and one who must remain in prison for many years to come. They spend their days performing futile physical labor and nights rehearsing in their cell for a performance of Sophocles' ""Antigone"" in front of the other prisoners."
"Maximum Security Prison, Robben Island Maximum Security Prison is an inactive prison at Robben Island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometers (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. It was prominent because of Nobel Laureate and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there for 18 of the 27 years he served behind bars before the fall of apartheid. After that, three former inmates of this prison Nelson Mandela, Kgalema Motlanthe, and Jacob Zuma have gone on to become President of South Africa. It is a South African National Heritage Site as well as"
"final image is of John and Winston, chained together once more, running hard as the siren wails. Although the play is in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa words are spoken as well. The Island (play) The Island is a play written by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona. The apartheid-era drama, inspired by a true story, is set in an unnamed prison clearly based on South Africa's notorious Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held for twenty-seven years. It focuses on two cellmates, one whose successful appeal means that his release draws near and one who must remain in prison"
"Apartheid Apartheid (South African English: ; , lit. ""separateness"") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s. Apartheid was characterised by an authoritarian political culture based on ""baasskap"" (or white supremacy), which encouraged state repression of Black African, Coloured, and Asian South Africans for the benefit of the nation's minority white population. The economic legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day. Broadly speaking, apartheid was delineated into ""petty apartheid"", which entailed the segregation of public facilities and social events, and ""grand apartheid"", which dictated housing and"
"is celebrated as a public holiday known as Freedom Day. The following individuals, who had previously supported apartheid, made public apologies: Apartheid Apartheid (South African English: ; , lit. ""separateness"") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s. Apartheid was characterised by an authoritarian political culture based on ""baasskap"" (or white supremacy), which encouraged state repression of Black African, Coloured, and Asian South Africans for the benefit of the nation's minority white population. The economic legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day. Broadly speaking, apartheid was"
"African government on Robben Island since 1962. The song became enormously popular, and turned into an unofficial anthem of the anti-apartheid movement. It became one of Masekela's most performed live songs. It was later used as a part of the official soundtrack to the documentary film . The song was included in the 1994 live album ""Hope"" and in the 2001 collection """", released by Columbia records. Black South African leader Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island in 1962. He was a great fan of Hugh Masekela's music, and on Masekela's birthday in 1985, smuggled out a letter to"
"rations during the Siege of Ladysmith. The word ""Kaffir"" was used without derogatory connotations during the Dutch and British colonial periods until the early twentieth century. Apartheid (Afrikaans pronunciation: ; an Afrikaans word meaning ""separateness"", or ""the state of being apart"", literally ""apart-hood"") was a system of racial segregation in South Africa enforced through legislation by the National Party (NP), the governing party from 1948 to 1994. Under apartheid, the rights, associations, and movements of the majority black inhabitants and other ethnic groups were curtailed, and white minority rule was maintained. Apartheid was developed after World War II by the"
"an exclusively-white South African national football team, forcing South African football authorities to add black players to the team. The government, in turn strengthened methods of enforcing Apartheid, and the Robben Island prison was made a political prison in 1962. 1962 in South Africa Events from the year 1962 in South Africa. This year is notable for its internal and international resistance campaigns against the country's Apartheid legislation. Umkhonto we Sizwe, the militant wing of the African National Congress, made its first sabotage attacks in 1961, and Nelson Mandela traveled to Ethiopia to rally support for Umkhonto and justify the"
"the Dutch period. The colonial government built a high security prison on the isolated island to exile criminals and political dissidents. The prison on Nusakambangan was opened in the mid-1920s by Indonesia's Dutch colonial rulers and was once considered the harshest penal institution in Southeast Asia. The island was declared off-limits in 1905 by the Dutch. Its use as a prison island continued after independence. During the rule of former President Suharto, hundreds of political dissidents were imprisoned on the island. Most were political prisoners, members of the banned Communist Party of Indonesia or sympathizers. These political prisoners were never"
"May 1994. Beginning in 1948 the party as the governing party of South Africa began implementing its policy of racial segregation, known as apartheid (the Afrikaans term for ""separateness""). Although white-minority rule and racial segregation based on white supremacy were already in existence in South Africa with non-whites not having voting rights and efforts made to encourage segregation, apartheid intensified the segregation with stern penalties for non-whites entering into areas designated for whites-only without having a pass to permit them to do so (known as the pass laws), interracial marriage and sexual relationships were illegal and punishable offences, and blacks"
"were burnt down. Cape Town was home to many leaders of the anti-apartheid movement. On Robben Island, a former penitentiary island from the city, many famous political prisoners were held for years. In one of the most famous moments marking the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela made his first public speech since his imprisonment, from the balcony of Cape Town City Hall hours after being released on 11 February 1990. His speech heralded the beginning of a new era for the country, and the first democratic election, was held four years later, on 27 April 1994. Nobel Square in the"
"originally arrested in 1960 and sentenced to three years) in Robben Island for an additional six years. This Act strengthened previous amendments by further defining political crimes under Apartheid. Section 5 of the Act made a capital crime out of ""receiving training that could further the objects of communism or advocating abroad economic or social change in South Africa by violent means through the aid of a foreign government or institution where the accused is a resident or former resident of South Africa"". The legislation made provisions for imposing ""sentences ranging from a minimum of five years imprisonment to death"
"facilities. Mandela was arrested in 1962, convicted of sabotage in 1964 and sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island, along with Sisulu and other ANC leaders after the Rivonia Trial. During the 1970s and 1980s the ANC leadership in exile under Oliver Tambo made the decision to target Apartheid government leadership, command and control, secret police, and military–industrial complex assets and personnel in decapitation strikes, targeted killings, and guerilla actions such as bomb explosions in facilities frequented by military and government personnel. A number of civilians were also killed in these attacks. Examples of these include the Amanzimtoti bombing, the"
"was overthrown in a 1979 coup d'état. Black Beach holds a number of foreign prisoners sentenced for participating in a 2004 coup d'état attempt against the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. These included Simon Mann, the alleged ringleader, until his presidential pardon on 2 November 2009 on humanitarian grounds, and more recently Ramón Esono Ebalé (released in March 2018). Black Beach Black Beach (), located on the island of Bioko, in the capital city of Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, is one of Africa's most notorious prisons. It has a reputation for systematically neglecting and brutalising inmates. Medical"
"the Old Mill building in Pietermaritzburg. During the 1980s, he produced T-shirts and posters for the United Democratic Front, while also contributing poetry, essays, and graphics to Staffrider magazine, an important and explicitly non-racial literary production in the 70s and 80s written for the general public about daily life in South Africa. He was later arrested under the Terrorism Act and from 1983 to 1991, was jailed at Robben Island and in Johannesburg. For a period of seven months prior to trial, he was placed in solitary confinement and tortured by the security police. During his time on trial and"
"Bethal Trial was the only secret political trial ever held in apartheid South Africa. He was elected as the president of the PAC in 1986 while in prison. Mothopeng was sentenced to Robben Island again where he was to serve two 15-year terms of imprisonment. He was severely tortured in jail. Mothopeng was among those who reported police torture because four other detainees had died in detention. Mothopeng became ill with cancer of the throat while in prison. He was unconditionally released by President F. W. de Klerk in 1988. He rejected calls to join political talks that black people"
"Site in 1999. Robben Island is located in Table Bay, some west of Bloubergstrand in Cape Town, and stands some 30m above sea level. Robben Island has been used as prison where people were isolated, banished and exiled to for nearly 400 years. It was also used as a leper colony, a post office, a grazing ground, a mental hospital, and an outpost. Currently visitors can only access the island via the Robben Island Museum boat service, which run three times daily until the beginning of the peak season (1 September). The ferries depart from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at"
"Black Beach Black Beach (), located on the island of Bioko, in the capital city of Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, is one of Africa's most notorious prisons. It has a reputation for systematically neglecting and brutalising inmates. Medical treatment is usually denied to inmates and food rations are said to be meagre. (The United Nations' Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners requires minimal medical treatment for all prisoners.) The President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, is a former Governor of Black Beach Prison and his uncle and predecessor, Francisco Macías Nguema, was executed here after he"
"occurred after an operation for a spinal problem. He was survived by his wife Pamela, sons Lindela, Mayihlome and daughter Yonda. He honoured with a state funeral on 4 May 2002 and flags were flown at half-mast. Steve Tshwete Steve Vukhile Tshwete (12 November 1938 in Springs, Gauteng – 26 April 2002 in Pretoria, Gauteng) was a South African politician and activist with the African National Congress. Involved in Umkhonto we Sizwe, Tshwete was imprisoned by the apartheid authorities on Robben Island from February 1964 to 1978. Tshwete resumed activities with the ANC and become a regional coordinator for the"
"prison commandant, for example, is replaced by a former subordinate, who wears a twentieth-century guard's uniform and is often accompanied by a fierce-looking Alsatian on a short lead. A 'wetbag' is seen, as it was used as a torture devise in Apartheid South Africa. A extract from the speech Nelson Mandela made at his sentencing hearing in 1964, before he was imprisoned on Robben Island, is displayed at the end of the film. Set in 18th-century South Africa, the film dramatizes the true story of Claas Blank (Rouxnet Brown) and Rijkhaart Jacobsz (Neil Sandilands). Herder Claas Blank was serving 10"
"Reagan and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; both considered Mandela's ANC a terrorist organisation sympathetic to communism, and supported its suppression. In April 1982, Mandela was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in Tokai, Cape Town, along with senior ANC leaders Walter Sisulu, Andrew Mlangeni, Ahmed Kathrada, and Raymond Mhlaba; they believed that they were being isolated to remove their influence on younger activists at Robben Island. Conditions at Pollsmoor were better than at Robben Island, although Mandela missed the camaraderie and scenery of the island. Getting on well with Pollsmoor's commanding officer, Brigadier Munro, Mandela was permitted to create a roof"
"Drakenstein Correctional Centre Drakenstein Correctional Centre (formerly Victor Verster Prison) is a low-security prison between Paarl and Franschhoek, on the R301 road 5 km from the R45 Huguenot Road, in the valley of the Dwars River in the Western Cape of South Africa. The prison is famous for being the location where Nelson Mandela spent the last part of his imprisonment for campaigning against apartheid. In 1982 Mandela was transferred from the maximum security prison on Robben Island, a small island in Table Bay, to Pollsmoor Prison in Tokai, Cape Town. From there, Mandela was moved to the then Victor"
"by those of the Conservative Party and National Party, and was adopted by the South African government as formal policy in 1948. In 1950 the Population Registration Act provided a framework of segregation by formally categorising South African citizens by various racial classes. During this time anti-apartheid political groups such as the Afrapix and ANC became heavily organised and employed both passive and aggressive methods to challenge the longevity of apartheid. From 1963 until 1990 Nelson Mandela, founder of the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) was imprisoned resulting in international support of anti-apartheid progress. From 1985 the United Kingdom and United"
"pursued a non-violent strategy known as ""ungovernability"" including rent boycotts, student protests, and strike campaigns. A strong relationship existed between the African National Congress (ANC) and the UDF, based on the shared mission statement of the Freedom Charter. Following restrictions placed on its activities, the UDF was replaced in 1988 by the Mass Democratic Movement, a loose and amorphous alliance of anti-apartheid groups that had no permanent structure, making it difficult for the government to place a ban on its activities. A total of 130 political prisoners were hanged on the gallows of Pretoria Central Prison between 1960 and 1990."
"to release them. Ban said the release of political prisoners would ""serve as a significant confidence-building measure"" and boost prospects of peace in the region. Amnesty International has called on Israel to release political prisoners, saying ""all political prisoners held without charge or trial should be tried in fair trials or immediately released"". John Dugard has compared Israeli imprisonment of Palestinians to policies of Apartheid-era South Africa, saying ""Apartheid's security police practiced torture on a large scale. So do the Israeli security forces. There were many political prisoners on Robben Island but there are more Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli"
"1991 it has served as the business school of University of Cape Town and hotel run by the Protea chain. Breakwater Lodge The Breakwater Lodge in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa was built as a prison in 1859. It is now part of the University of Cape Town and a hotel. The original prison was built in 1859 for convicts from Britain at the suggestion of John Montagu who was the colonial secretary to the Cape of Good Hope from 1843 to 1852. They were transported to The Cape to work on the construction of the"
"for criminal prisoners was closed five years later. With the end of apartheid, the island has become a popular destination with global tourists. It is managed by Robben Island Museum (RIM); which operates the site as a living museum. In 1999 the island was declared a World Heritage Site. Every year thousands of visitors take the ferry from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town for tours of the island and its former prison. Many of the guides are former prisoners. All land on the island is owned by the country of South Africa with the exception of the"
"the ANC to bomb the Secunda refinery, a crime he insisted he did not commit. He was later released without charges being laid. He reported that he had been tortured whilst a prisoner. He fled to Mozambique where he joined Umkhonto we Sizwe, the militant arm of the ANC. After military training, he returned to South Africa where he single-handedly carried out a second, partly successful, bombing at Secunda, which - as was intended - resulted in no casualties. After a massive manhunt, he was arrested and ultimately sentenced to 24 years in prison on Robben Island. In 1994, as"