ALEXANDRU VIȘINESCU – O BIOGRAFIE

Abstract

This study reconstructs and examines the biography and professional trajectory of Alexandru Vişinescu, the commandant of Râmnicu Sărat prison, between 1956 and 1963. Nowadays, he is being prosecuted for "crimes against humanity" by a Romanian Court. The main source of the article is his professional file, which became available at the end of 2013. The file doesn't enclose information and data regarding the persecutions and tortures inflicted upon political detainees in Râmnicu Sărat prison. The documents kept a conspicuous silence on the treatment of inmates'. The watchword of the penitentiary treatment of the political prisoners was conspiracy and this also extended upon the prison commander's professional record. Data found in the archive documents were triangulated with and complemented by memoirs and declarations of former inmates of this place of detention. Within the study, we chose to present and analyze the most recent information, the memoirs of the Jesuit priest Mihai Godó and the statements during the Penal Trial of Valentin, a political prisoner at Râmnicu Sărat during Visinescu's term.