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Dieter and Ruth Gerhard are detained

This Day in History: January 26, 1983
Additional Date: January 26, 1983
The South African government announced at a special press conference that a senior South African naval officer, Commodore Dieter Gerhardt and his second wife, Ruth, had been detained for questioning in connection with alleged espionage. Gerhardt was commanding officer at the strategically important Simonstown naval base. They were jailed in December 1983 after being convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.