In the previous issue of FOCUS it was reported that the prison conditions of Nelson Mandela and other long-term political prisoners had seriously worsened since their transfer from the Robben Island prison, where they had been held since the early 1960s, to mainland prisons.
The information was made public during May at a hearing in London before the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Since then further details have come from South Africa after a visit to Mandela and other prominent ANC leaders by Helen Suzman, an MP of the opposition Progressive Federal Party.
Ms Suzman reported them to be in good health and spirits, but they had raised several issues with her. Chief among these was the lack of recreational facilities. Whereas on Robben Island they had open recreational areas, Polls-moor Prison, where they are now being held, has only concrete courtyards with high walls. On Robben Island the prisoners had got used to single cells but now had to share a communal cell with five others.
