īefore the trial, Mandela and the other defendants decided that instead of testifying as witnesses and submitting to cross-examination he would make a speech from the dock to put the state on trial, by pointing out the injustices of the South African society and its legal system. All defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecutor Percy Yutar did not explicitly move for the death penalty, but it was generally believed that that was what the state wanted. That included charges of recruiting persons to undertake guerrilla warfare against the South African state, conspiring to aid foreign military against the republic, and furthering acts of communism. Along with Mandela, who had been arrested in August 1962 and was serving a five-year sentence, they were accused of counts of sabotage, furthering communism and aiding foreign powers. In July 1963, ten African National Congress (ANC) leaders were arrested in Rivonia, a suburb of Johannesburg.
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