(13 Jul 2014) A former Romanian prison commander, who was charged with torturing and murdering prisoners during the communist regime will go on trial on Monday, becoming the first prison commander to face justice since the regime collapsed 25 years ago.
From 1956 to 1963, Lieutenant Colonel Alexandru Visinescu ran the notorious Ramnicu Sarat prison, where Romania's pre-communist political leaders and others considered a threat to the communist regime were incarcerated.
Visinescu, 88 years old, was charged by the Romanian prosecutor's office with crimes against humanity for deaths that happened under his command.
He has pleaded not guilty and said he was turned into a scapegoat.
"I only executed the order. But who gave the order?," he said.
Prosecutors said 14 people died under Visinescu's command.
Prosecutors also accused Visinescu of denying medical treatment and refusing to hospitalise severely sick prisoners.
Visinescu contests the number of deaths that prosecutors say happened under his command and denies mistreatment happened under his command that led to prisoners' deaths.
Some of the dead bodies found in the prison showed signs of malnutrition, according to doctors who signed the death certificates.
Speaking to The Associated Press on Friday, Visinescu seemed to be more relaxed than he was a year ago, when he cursed journalists outside his home, shortly after his story made headlines in the media.
Some prison survivors during the communist regime believe the delay in bringing perpetrators to justice has been a cynical tactic by some of Romania's new rulers to avoid responsibility, as many held senior positions during the communist regime.
Former prison survivor Octav Bjoza, who is now the head of the Association of Former Political Prisoners in Romania, said there were 40,000 political prisoners when communism ended in the country, but only 3,000 of them are still alive today.
"(There are) people who in different times and places lived the same horrors, the same famine, lacking basic hygiene conditions and medical assistance, tortures, beatings, chains on their feet, forced labour, famine. They all have the same thing in common: murder," said Bjoza.
Former prisoner Valentin Cristea, who was incarcerated in Ramnicu Sarat while Visinescu was commander, said hoped some of the families of the dead and tortured that are still alive with get some closure from the trial.
Historians say one-fifth of the 500,000 who were imprisoned died under harsh conditions during Romania's communist rule.
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