The 16 members of the Pan-Africanist Congress who were convicted and imprisoned on 26 June in Bethal Circuit Court had their application for leave to appeal refused by the Pretoria Supreme Court on 16 July. The judge said he could find no merit in the argument that another court might have come to a different conclusion.
The six ANC members convicted under the Terrorism Act in Springs on 24 November 1977 were refused leave to appeal against conviction in Bloemfontein Appeal Court on 9 August. Five of them are however to be allowed to appeal against sentence.
The six are currently on Robben Island. John PHALA was allowed to appeal against his 30-year sentence by the trial court. The four others granted leave to appeal against sentence by the Appeal Court are John THABO (30 years) Ben MASHININI (12 years) Vincent NKOSI (12 years) and Philip KHOZA (15 years). The sixth accused, Solomon MUSI, did not appeal against his five-year sentence.
