A letter from a reader alleges;
Saw your comments [re] Irwin Cotler. He claims to have defended Nelson Mandela.Well, I have news for you, Nelson Mandela has no recollection of him. Proof: I asked him! Guess you have to take my word.
George Bizos SC, one of the South African Advocates who defended Mandela, did not remember Cotler.
Here is what happened. At the time of the Mandela trial, known as the Rivonia Trial, many well meaning lawyers from the UK and the Common Law world attended. Cotler was one of them. Just about all of them used the occasion to take their names onto Mandela and boast, "I was Mandela's lawyer".
That is what Cotler did. The court transcripts make no mention of Cotler. At the time he was not admitted to the South African Advocates Roll - or the local Bar. In short, he was an eager and enthusiast [sic] bystander and, many say, keen to make a name for himself. Smart man. He used this experience to do just that.
My law prof at the Universtiy of Witwaterstrand - a strong Mandela supporter, used to joke about this saying that Mandela was pleased to be in jail just to escape the bills that these thieving parasitic lawyers who affected to have represented him might be sending.
But give Cotler his due. He made many trips to South Africa in later years and got to meet Mandela and 'create' the 'I was Mandela's lawyer' image.
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