Romania on Monday marked the Day of Anti-Communist Political Prisoners, an annual commemoration dedicated to the thousands of people imprisoned for opposing the communist regime that ruled Romania between 1947 and 1989.
Photo: EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT
During this era, many political opponents of the government, including intellectuals, clergy, politicians and students, were sent to prison. Many died in the harsh conditions, from abuse and lack of medical care.
Photo: EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT
Estimates of the death toll vary because many deaths were never officially recorded. Most historians agree that at least 20,000 political prisoners died in detention in Romania’s prisons, labour camps and places of detention.
Photo: EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT
On Monday, President Nicusor Dan said that the day “reminds us of the courage of those who confronted the abuses of the communist regime, turning suffering into the highest act of dignity.
Photo: EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT
“We have a civic and moral duty to protect the truth about the past, not only as a gesture of respect and gratitude to those who endured terrible horrors in prisons, but also to understand how fragile freedom is and how quickly it can be lost when a dictatorship comes to power,” Dan added.
Photo: EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT
The issue of anti-communist political prisoners remains sensitive in Romania and is often exploited by far-right groups. This is partly because a large number of those who died in communist-era prisons had previously held sympathies for the far-right Iron Guard or similar movements in the inter-war period.
Photo: EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT
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