Black S. African unions mark white's jail death

February 9, 1982

Black trade unions in South Africa called for a half-hour nationwide stoppage Feb. 11 to mark the death in police detention of a white union organizer. Dr. Neil Aggett, Transvaal secretary of the Food and Canning Workers' Union, was found hanged in his jail cell last Friday. Police said he took his own life.

The first death of a white man in police custody has brought condemnation of South Africa's tough security laws, which allow almost indefinite detention without charges.