Romania: Information on a place called Tincabesti near Bucharest, including whether people with criminal records and ethnic Hungarians active in the U.D.M.R. or Hungarian causes are sent there to perform forced labour and are involuntarily kept there
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 January 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ROM28588.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Romania: Information on a place called Tincabesti near Bucharest, including whether people with criminal records and ethnic Hungarians active in the U.D.M.R. or Hungarian causes are sent there to perform forced labour and are involuntarily kept there, 1 January 1998, ROM28588.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad144c.html [accessed 25 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
In a 5 January 1998 telephone interview, the vice-president of the Romanian Helsinki Committee in Bucharest provided the following information, which represents the organization's viewpoint. Tincabesti is a large village no more than 30 kilometres from Bucharest. The vice-president did not know the population or the ethnic composition of the village.
The vice-president stated that there are two forms of detention in Romania: prison lock-ups and penitentiaries. The Romanian Helsinki Committee has visited numerous penitentiaries in Romania to investigate conditions, but the vice-president has not heard any reference to the existence of a penitentiary in Tincabesti.
The vice-president added that forced labour camps were abolished in Romania in the 1960s. Prisoners in penitentiaries occasionally work outside them in the local communities in the agricultural, industrial or construction sectors; however, this work is paid labour, not forced labour. She added that it is possible that prisoners from penitentiaries elsewhere in Romania have been sent to the Tincabesti area to work.
The vice-president has not heard of any recent report indicating that ethnic Hungarians who are active in Hungarian political parties, movements or causes are imprisoned due to their political activism.
Corroborating or additional information on the above-mentioned topics could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Reference
Romanian Helsinki Committee, Bucharest. 5 January 1998. Telephone interview with vice-president.
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International Report. Yearly.
CSCE Digest [Washington]. Monthly.
Electronic sources: IRB databases, LEXIS/NEXIS, Internet, REFWORLD (UNHCR database), World News Connection (WNC).
Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly.
News from Helsinki Watch [New York]. Monthly.
Resource Centre country file on Romania.
Transition [Prague]. Twice monthly.
Uncaptive Minds [Washington]. Quarterly.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact other oral sources.
