At the opening of the defence case, Mandela chose to make a statement from the dock instead of testifying. He traced the political conditions behind resistance and defended the ideal of a democratic, free society without domination by either white or Black people. The court recording survives as audio restored from dictabelt; the linked YouTube item is an audio extract and is not trial video. Mandela’s argument turned the prosecution into a public record of apartheid’s violence and of the movement’s political aims.
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What did Mandela do on 20 April 1964?
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Explanation
He made a statement from the dock at the opening of the defence case.
The surviving recording of Mandela’s 20 April statement is audio from dictabelt recordings.
🎉😄
😢
Explanation
The trial was recorded on dictabelt; the linked YouTube item is an audio extract.