What was the actual crime for which Nelson Mandela was convicted?

English Speech Purist: What was the actual crime for which Nelson Mandela was convicted?
We’ve just had a statue to him unveiled in London, and one of the people near me in the crowd watching this, referred to something that sounded like a ‘Rivonia’ trial. I have cheked this on the Net, but the references to the actual ‘crime’ are too vague.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Bobbie K
he is black

Answer by C M
You can check out the two links bellow, about Nelson Mandela and the Rivonia Trial.

Answer by bobbi usa rocks
i think people are PRUNES too not think he deserves everything he rightously deserves.

he was not a criminal it was only because he was going against the english invading his country so they put in jail.

Answer by Witness
I think you might be referring to the bombing of Park Station, the main train station in Johannesburg.

Answer by vdpphd
Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for conspiracy to violently overthrow the government of South Africa. As one of the leaders of the African National Congress (ANC), he was held responsible for various acts of violence and various plots to commit acts of violence on the part of members of the ANC. Unlike Dr. King and Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the ANC charter does not include a formal policy of non-violence. The government used this as an argument to call Mandela a “terrorist.” There were in fact violent demonstrations by the ANC, and there were alleged plots, and some testimony that such plots existed, to place bombs and commit murders. I think at some point some police persons might have been killed in a riot involving ANC followers. There was maybe even a bomb that went off in a train station. So, Mandela was railroaded for crimes and purported crimes committed by some of his followers.

There were laws in South Africa requiring a black person to have a passport just to move around or leave the country, and Mandela had already been found guilty of violating that law when the Rivonia trials started. He was already doing five years for the passport violation when he was sentenced to life on the revolutionary conspiracy charges. Interestingly, the ANC leadership consisted of a number of Jews and a number of Indians, too, as well as a bunch of South African blacks, just like the US NAACP. Two of the accused Jews got away by escaping from jail before the trial, another was found not guilty, and the others, along with the Indians and blacks went to prison for decades. Mandela got the longest sentence and served the longest time.