Romanian ex-prison chief Visinescu dies

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)— Alexandru Visinescu, a Romanian communist-era prison guard serving a 20-year sentence for crimes against humanity, died Monday in prison at 93, Romanian authorities said.

Visinescu was the first prison guard from the early years of communism to go on trial in Romania. He became a national symbol of the Communist era’s brutality against its own people, most of whom who had simply fallen afoul of the regime.

Romania had about 500,000 political prisoners under the Communist regime that was in power from 1947 until 1989, about one-fifth of whom died while in detention, according to historians.

Visinescu died Monday at Rahova prison hospital, Bianca Filote, a spokeswoman for the Institute for Investigating the Crimes of Communism, told The Associated Press.

“He will forever be known as the torturer adopted by the communist Securitate secret police to kill. He ended the lives of defenseless human beings, physically and mentally,” Andrei Muraru, who initiated the investigation into Visinescu’s conduct in 2013, told the AP.

Visinescu was convicted in 2015 for the abuse and killing of prisoners at Ramnicu Sarat prison in eastern Romania, where he was in command from 1956 to 1963. He was imprisoned in February 2016 after losing his appeal.

Former prisoners under Visinescu testified that they were denied access to medical treatment, heating, exercise and adequate food. They were held in solitary confinement and beatings were common. The prison housed members of Romania’s intellectual, political and military elite.

“He annihilated his victims in a sadistic program of physical and mental alienation, total isolation combined with physical torture,” said Muraru.

During his trial, Visinescu showed no remorse and insisted he was only following orders. A judge and prosecutor asked him six times why inmates died under his command. He answered just once, suggesting they died of old age.

At his final hearing, he wept and pleaded: “Let me die!”

Muraru, a historian who is now an adviser to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, said Visinescu would remain “the unmistakable face of the torturer, who was able to hide for half a century due to the … post-communist system that protected him.”

Pro Bowl fullback Brown dies at 80

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Bill Brown, the Minnesota Vikings fullback who was a four-time Pro Bowl pick in 14 seasons in the NFL, has died. He was 80.

The Vikings announced the death Sunday, before a moment of silence for Brown prior to their game against Detroit. Brown’s son-in-law, former Vikings quarterback Rich Gannon, said on Twitter that Brown “passed away peacefully.” Tweeted Gannon: “He was an incredible man who was so good to me and everyone he ever met!”

Drafted in the second round by the Bears in 1961 out of Illinois, Brown was traded to the Vikings after his rookie year. Nicknamed “Boom Boom” for his punishing running style, Brown is fourth in Vikings history with 5,757 rushing yards. His best season was 1974, with 1,569 total yards and 16 touchdowns in 14 games.

Swiss skier Barandun dies in accident

BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Gian Luca Barandun, a World Cup downhill skier from Switzerland, has died in a paragliding accident. He was 24.

The Swiss ski federation said Barandun, one of its best prospects in Alpine speed races, died Sunday morning.

“In this difficult period all of the Swiss ski family is thinking of Gian Luca’s family,” Markus Wolf, the federation’s director general, said Monday in a statement.

Barandun started in eight World Cup downhill races. He placed 15th in Switzerland’s signature race, the Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen, in January.

He also had 20th-place finishes in downhills in Val Gardena and Bormio, Italy, last December. His career-best World Cup result was ninth-place finish in an Alpine combined event in Bormio in December.