Romanian
Communist-era Prison Commander Sentenced To 20 Years Jail
(Vatican
Radio) A communist-era Romanian prison commander has been sentenced to 20 years
imprisonment on charges of crimes against humanity for the deaths of 12
inmates. The sentencing of the elderly Alexandru Vişinescu in the country's
first such trial has been welcomed by relatives of victims and
prosecutors.
Vişinescu,
89, was also ordered to remain two decades behind bars and to contribute along
with government agencies to paying some $330,000 to relatives of the victims.
The former commander, who was not in court to hear the ruling, has denied
wrongdoing saying he was "merely following orders". But he
has shown no remorse.
His
lawyer told reporters that he hasn't decided whether to appeal.
HORROR
PRISON
From
1956 to 1963, Vişinescuran Râmnicu Sărat, a prison in eastern Romania
where intellectuals and political and military officials were tortured and
sometimes killed.
Anca
Cernea, whose father and grandfather were political prisoners, called it
"a moral victory". That view is shared by Radu Preda, president of
Romania's Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and Memory
of the Romanian Exile. "It is clear that now we can talk of justice for
victims of communism," he said. "Let's not regret that this man is to
old to really feel what this sentence means for him...Let's see the beginning
of justice for other cases."
Preda,
who initiated the case in 2013, has called it "the most important decision
ever taken by Romania’s justice system regarding accountability
for
the communist era.”
About
500,000 Romanians were held as political prisoners in the 1950s and early 60s. But
since the ouster of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu in the 1989
revolution, many former communist officials have not yet been prosecuted.
In fact, Visinescu is the first prison commander from that time to stand trial.
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