DR RANDERA
Welcome.  Before I ask you can I just make one announcement about the interpretation services for those people who want to use it.  The box has numbered on it on the left-hand side 1, 2, 3 and the languages that we are interpreting into are Afrikaans on 1, English on 2 and Sotho or Zulu on 3.  So please feel free to use these boxes.  If anybody does not have one please put your hands up we may be able to help you if there are any boxes free.  Thank you.
 Abdulhay you have come to tell us about your detention in the sixties.  This was a period when some of the most draconian laws were passed in South African history and I just want to give some background to that.  
 The General Law Amendment Act 37 of 1963 provided for 90 day detention.  This Act came into force on the 1st of May 1963.  Legislation was introduced in order to crush the ANC and PAC.  It provided for a detainee to be held in 
JOHANNESBURG HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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custody for interrogation until in the opinion of the Commissioner of Police he had satisfactorily answered all questions.  The detention could be renewed if the detainee had not answered all questions satisfactorily.  
 Provision was made for visits each week by a magistrate although detainees were not permitted access to their lawyers or any other visitors.  From the 1st of May when this Act came into effect to 7th of November 1963 544 persons had been held without trial according to a statement by the Minister of Justice.  
 It's also been recorded that from the inception of security legislation in the early sixties there were allegations of physical and psychological abuse of detainees.  Many detainees were held in solitary confinement although some received visitors.  Many detainees were denied books other than the Bible and most were refused writing materials.  There were rumours of physical ill-treatment of Black detainees such as the use of electric shock.  When this was queried by Helen Suzman the Minister of Justice assured her that he would investigate any cases brought to his attention and had already instituted one enquiry.
 Abdulhay this is your time, if you will take as long as you want to tell the story that you are going to recall and this happened almost 30 years ago, more than 30 years ago, so please take your time.