“This is very sad for our country.”. The renowned lawyer represented many struggle heroes including the Rivonia Trialists. The 92-year-old died of natural causes, attended to by family at home on Wednesday, according to a joint statement by the Bizos family, the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), and … JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Anti-apartheid campaigner and Nelson Mandela’s personal lawyer George Bizos has died at 92, his family said Wednesday. "Ntate Bizos was always available to support our events and to lend an ear to our challenges," Sello Hatang, foundation Chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation said in a statement. Bizos … (CNN)Renowned South African human rights lawyer and anti-apartheid defender George Bizos has died, according to his family. He introduced Bizos to his "guard of honour" on Robben Island, the 12 white Afrikaner wardens who accompanied him. © 2021 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. George Bizos Funeral, Obituary, Service, Notices, Death: George Bizos Passed away on 9 September 2020, You can send your sympathy in the comment provided and share it with the family. Picture: Tracy-Lee Stark . September 9, 2020 at 10:20 p.m. UTC George Bizos, an anti-apartheid campaigner who served for nearly a half-century as Nelson Mandela’s personal lawyer, died … President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the rights lawyer's passing during an online media briefing. Tributes have been pouring for human rights lawyer George Bizos. He died peacefully at his home of natural causes, the family said. George Bizos: “The Rivonia Trial was a very challenging case because it was a matter of life and death. He died late this afternoon. The soft-spoken but determined Bizos represented Mandela from his treason trial in 1964 until the former South African president's death in 2013. The Afrikaner saw there was no future in apartheid, and knew they couldn't "face the world forever", he. He died peacefully at his home of natural causes, the family said. One of his last major trials secured government payouts in 2014 for families of 34 miners shot dead by police at Marikana north-west of Johannesburg. A beloved national figure, he continued working into his late 80s. Ramaphosa described Bizos as one of the lawyers who “contributed immensely to the attainment of our democracy”. George Bizos, an anti-apartheid icon and renowned human rights lawyer who defended Nelson Mandela on treason charges for which he escaped the death penalty, died on Wednesday aged 92. "He became like a well-loved uncle to us. Rita died in 2017, shortly before her husband's 90th birthday. H contributed greatly to his community and country, George campaigned against apartheid in South Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his death, saying Bizos the news was "very sad for us as a country. George Bizos Death – Dead: A great loss was made known to InsideEko. Mandela eventually earned the respect of his jailers, said Bizos. In a long career dedicated to defending democratic values and human rights, the soft-spoken Bizos represented a series of activists against the white minority regime and later helped to finalise the constitution of post-apartheid South Africa. In 2004 he represented the now late leader of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change’s Morgan Tsvangirai on a charge of plotting to kill then president Robert Mugabe, for which he was acquitted. Bizos … Bizos continued to represent Mandela throughout his 27-year jail term and also acted for his then wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, on more than 20 occasions. Bizos was married to Arethe Daflos, known as "Rita", who he met in 1948 when she was an art student. The death of George Bizos, the human rights lawyer and indefatigable prosecutor of apartheid’s white supremacy and its brutal orchestrators and defenders, sent tremors throughout a South Africa floundering in a crisis of identity. George Bizos, an anti-apartheid icon and renowned human rights lawyer who defended Nelson Mandela on treason charges for which he escaped the death … South Africa’s president hails ‘one of the architects of our constitution’ who helped save Mandela from expected death penalty. Bizos died at the age of 92 after a lifetime of service protecting human rights. In his 1994 autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela described the advocate as a lifelong friend and “a man who combined a sympathetic nature with an incisive mind”. George Bizos, an anti-apartheid icon and renowned human rights lawyer who helped defend Nelson Mandela on treason charges for which he escaped the death penalty, has died aged 92. JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Anti-apartheid campaigner and Nelson Mandela’s personal lawyer George Bizos has died at 92, his family said Wednesday. "This is very sad for our country," he said. The speech was electrifying, notably Mandela’s often-cited lines on his hope for democracy: “It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced rights lawyer’s passing on Wednesday during a media conference. He was later involved in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up to investigate apartheid-era political crimes. He was 92. George Bizos, a lawyer who campaigned against apartheid in South Africa and represented his lifelong friend Nelson Mandela in court, died Wednesday evening. He was sentenced to life in prison instead, and served 27 years. The couple had three sons. Mandela's lawyer, anti-apartheid activist George Bizos dies Originally published by The Associated Press on September 09, 2020 JOHANNESBURG — Anti-apartheid campaigner and Nelson Mandela's personal lawyer George Bizos has died at 92, his family said Wednesday. Condolences have been pouring in following news of his passing, aged 92. Sep 10, 2020. renowned human rights lawyer and a close friend of Nelson Mandela. "[He asked us to] draw a constitution that will be good for our country, and not only for the good of our organization. JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Anti-apartheid campaigner and Nelson Mandela’s personal lawyer George Bizos has died at 92, his family said Wednesday. Bizos arrived in South Africa as a 13-year-old war refugee from Greece and became one of its most respected lawyers. As friends and families of the deceased are mourning the passing of their loved and cherished George Bizos. "Even though many of the warders would not treat black prisoners as human beings, he made it his business to treat the warders as human beings," he told. Bizos, who came to South Africa as a 13-year-old fleeing the Nazi occupation of Greece, played a key role in the legal fight […] Died: 9 September 2020 Details of death: Not Confirmed George Bizos was a Greek-South African human rights lawyer who campaigned against apartheid in South Africa. George Bizos, the lawyer who aided Nelson Mandela during apartheid, has died in Johannesburg at 92. “I have just received news that legal eagle of our country George Bizos has passed away,” Ramaphosa said. "He wanted to persuade the people of South Africa as a whole that they did not have to be afraid of fundamental change in the country," Bizos said. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”. The soft-spoken but determined Bizos represented Mandela from his treason trial in 1964 until the former South African president’s death in 2013. Former Anti-Apartheid activist and South African president Nelson Mandela's lawyer and friend George Bizos. Your support powers our independent journalism, Available for everyone, funded by readers. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday evening paid tribute to distinguished human rights advocate George Bizos who died at the age of 92. Updated 1324 GMT (2124 HKT) September 10, 2020. He died peacefully at his home of natural causes, the family said. Bizos died of natural causes at the age of 92 peacefully at his home with his family in attendance, a statement released by the family said. Bizos was in his mid-30s when he was chosen in 1963 to join a team of advocates that represented Mandela and other leading activists in one of the most important political trials in the history of South Africa. Although a junior member of the defence team, Bizos was credited with the tactic of proposing that Mandela deliver a statement from the dock to present the group’s cause, rather than submit him to cross-examination. All rights reserved. There was no immediate word on the cause of death, or whether Bizos had been ill. Bizos represented Mandela during the Rivonia trial ,which saw Mandela and seven others sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 on charges of seeking to overthrow the racist apartheid government. We were in awe of him, yet he always engaged us with humility, affection, and respect. He was […] Graca Machel has described Bizos and Nelson Mandela as two … George Bizos Death | George Bizos Obituary – Greek-South African human rights lawyer, George Bizos age 92 passed away peacefully On Wednesday, August 9 2020, George was known to be an amazing person. “However oppressive a regime might be, the court is the last forum in which an oppressed person has an opportunity to speak out,” Bizos said in a television interview at the time. Among his other high-profile work, Bizos defended the family of Black Consciousness Movement leader Steve Biko, who died in 1977 in police detention, and communist leader Chris Hani, who was assassinated in 1993. George Bizos, who has died aged 92, was the best known lawyer in South Africa. ", The foundation added that Bizos' friendship with Mandela spanned more than seven decades, and in the last years of Mandela's life, they were often found "catching up and sharing memories.". Bizos was Mandela's lawyer when he was put on trial in 1964, accused of sabotage and facing the death penalty. After Mandela's release, Bizos served on the constitutional committee of the African National Congress, helping to write the country's new constitution. Bizos would say later that he advised Mandela to avoid challenging the court over the possibility of a death sentence by adding the tempering words “if needs be”. … Bizos died of natural causes at his Johannesburg, his family said in a statement. To many, his stout and slightly rumpled figure represented all that was best about the law, a … President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a Special Official Funeral Category 1 to honour the late human rights lawyer and social activist Advocate George Bizos. George Bizos, who fled the Nazis as a teen before taking on racism and becoming Nelson Mandela's lawyer in South Africa, has died at 92. We tried to do that and I think we succeeded," Bizos said. ", "An incisive legal mind and architect of our Constitution, he contributed immensely to our democracy,". The lawyer played a key role in the release of Mandela in 1990. Bizos, … Many had expected the death penalty. "He looked after my family, after my children, advised my children and he made me feel that although I'm in prison, my affairs are being looked after by a man I know and I trust," the Mandela Foundation statement said quoting Nelson. George Bizos, an anti-apartheid icon and renowned human rights lawyer who helped defend Nelson Mandela on treason charges for which he escaped the death penalty, has died … Nelson Mandela’s heroic (dock) statement brought home to the international community that this (the ANC) was not a terrorist organisation. Bizos died of natural causes at the age of 92 peacefully at his home with his family in attendance, a statement released by the family said. The soft-spoken but determined Bizos represented Mandela from his treason trial in 1964 until the former South African president's death in 2013. He died at his home on Wednesday. George Bizos at Ahmed Kathrada's funeral, 29 March 2017. “He had an incisive legal mind and was one of the architects of our constitution,” the president during an online media briefing. Family, close friends and associates of the late George Bizos continued to honour him with fond memories after the veteran human rights lawyer died on Wednesday at the age of 92.