Râmnicu Sărat Prison

Râmnicu Sărat Prison is a former prison located in Râmnicu Sărat, Buzău County, Romania. The building is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.[1]

Râmnicu Sărat Prison
Entrance to the former prison
Coordinates45°23′00″N 27°03′19″E
StatusClosed, listed as historic monument
Capacity300
PopulationPolitical prisoners (from 1938 to closure)
OpenedEnd of the 19th century
Closed1963 (1963)
WardenAlexandru Vișinescu (1956–closure)
Street address53 Ion Mihalache Street
CityRâmnicu Sărat
CountyBuzău County
CountryRomania
Interior of the prison

Before World War II

The prison was built at the end of the 19th century,[1] and first attested in a document of October 1901. From its establishment until 1938, it housed common criminals with sentences of up to two years. After the onset of King Carol II's royal dictatorship in 1938, the prison began to be used for political prisoners, namely the leadership of the Iron Guard, including Corneliu Zelea Codreanu.

During the communist period

From 1955 to 1963, a significant number of prominent political prisoners were held there by the communist regime.[2] Alexandru Vișinescu was the commander of the prison from 1956 to 1963.[3] In 2015 he was convicted of crimes against humanity for his treatment of detainees, and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment.[4][5][6]

Unlike the much larger prisons at Gherla, Aiud, and Jilava, the Râmnicu Sărat penitenciary was rather small, with a maximum capacity of 300 inmates, provided there were 4 of them per cell.[7]

Notable inmates

Notes
  1. "Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Județul Buzău" (PDF) (in Romanian).
  2. "Râmnicu Sărat, Închisoarea Tăcerii (1945–1963). Istoric" (in Romanian). Râmnicu Sărat Memorial site. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  3. Higgins, Andrew (September 29, 2013). "In Trial, Romania Warily Revisits a Brutal Past". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  4. (in Romanian) Claudia Spridon, Ionel Stoica, Mihaela Cojocariu, "Torționarul Vișinescu, condamnat definitiv la 20 de ani închisoare pentru crime împotriva umanității", Adevărul, February 10, 2016
  5. Kit Gillet, "Brutal Romanian Prison Warden, 90, Loses Appeal of 20-Year Sentence", The New York Times, February 10, 2016
  6. (in Romanian) "Torționarul Alexandru Vișinescu a fost condamnat la 20 de ani de închisoare", Mediafax, July 24, 2015
  7. "The Râmnicu Sărat penitentiary, the prison of silence". Radio Romania International. February 22, 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.