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| Romania jails Communist-era prison chief in landmark case | Romania jails Communist-era prison chief in landmark case |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A former Communist-era prison commander has been sentenced to 20 years in jail after being convicted of crimes against humanity in the first such trial in Romania. | A former Communist-era prison commander has been sentenced to 20 years in jail after being convicted of crimes against humanity in the first such trial in Romania. |
| Alexandru Visinescu, 89, ran the notorious Ramnicu Sarat prison from 1956 to 1963, where inmates were allegedly tortured and starved. | Alexandru Visinescu, 89, ran the notorious Ramnicu Sarat prison from 1956 to 1963, where inmates were allegedly tortured and starved. |
| At least 12 people are said to have died as a result of the abuse. | At least 12 people are said to have died as a result of the abuse. |
| Mr Visinescu denied the charges, saying he was just following orders. | Mr Visinescu denied the charges, saying he was just following orders. |
| Prosecutors had sought a 25-year sentence, arguing that Mr Visinescu oversaw an "extermination regime" at the Ramnicu Sarat prison camp in the east of the country. | Prosecutors had sought a 25-year sentence, arguing that Mr Visinescu oversaw an "extermination regime" at the Ramnicu Sarat prison camp in the east of the country. |
| Nicknamed "the prison of silence" because detainees were held in solitary confinement, the facility housed intellectuals, dissidents, priests and others deemed enemies of the Communist Party. | Nicknamed "the prison of silence" because detainees were held in solitary confinement, the facility housed intellectuals, dissidents, priests and others deemed enemies of the Communist Party. |
| Mr Visinescu can appeal the 20-year sentence handed down on Friday. | Mr Visinescu can appeal the 20-year sentence handed down on Friday. |
| The court also ordered him - along with finance and interior ministries - to pay €300,000 (£212,000; $328,000) compensation to descendents of prisoners who brought a civil lawsuit, according to Romania's state-run news agency. | The court also ordered him - along with finance and interior ministries - to pay €300,000 (£212,000; $328,000) compensation to descendents of prisoners who brought a civil lawsuit, according to Romania's state-run news agency. |
| Mr Visinescu, whose trial began in September, is the first former prison commander to be jailed in Romania over abuses in the Communist-era justice system. | Mr Visinescu, whose trial began in September, is the first former prison commander to be jailed in Romania over abuses in the Communist-era justice system. |
| The trial of a second commander, Ion Ficior, who was in charge of the Periprava labour camp, began in April. | The trial of a second commander, Ion Ficior, who was in charge of the Periprava labour camp, began in April. |
| More than half a million Romanians were held as political prisoners in the 1950s as the country's Communist government sought to crush dissent. | More than half a million Romanians were held as political prisoners in the 1950s as the country's Communist government sought to crush dissent. |
| An official report published in 2006 said between 500,000 and two million people were killed or persecuted by the former Communist authorities. | |
| Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu was toppled and executed in a bloody uprising in December 1989. |