White Supremacists Who Plotted to Kill Mandela Sentenced to Prison

21 defendants sentenced to between 5 and 35 years

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—Members of a white supremacist Afrikaner "army" who hatched a poorly planned plot to assassinate former South African President Nelson Mandela were sentenced Tuesday to as many as 35 years in prison.

The 21 defendants were charged with offenses including treason, terrorism, setting off explosions and culpable murder from the late 1990s to 2002. Their sentences ranged from five to 35 years, the latter prison terms give to group leader Mike Du Toit and four others.

The case in Pretoria High Court, South Africa's first treason trial since the end of apartheid, lasted more than 10 years and cost $3.6 million.