Lao Bao Prison is a prison situated in
Lao Bảo
Lao Bảo is a small town in Hướng Hóa District of Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam, located in the North Central Coast region, near the border with Laos. Its population is approximately 30,000.
As Lao Bảo is located in an advantaged are ...
,
Quảng Trị
Quảng Trị () is a district-level town in Quảng Trị Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is second of two municipalities in the province after the provincial capital Đông Hà.
History
The Sino-Vietnamese name Quả ...
, 22 km from
Khe Sanh
Khe Sanh is the district capital of Hướng Hoá District, Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam, located 63 km west of Đông Hà.
During the Vietnam War, the Khe Sanh Combat Base was located to the north of the city. The Battle of Khe San ...
, in the village of Duy Tan, commune of TanThanh, district of
Hướng Hóa, to the west is the
Sepon river
The Sepon River ( vi, Sông Xê-pôn, Lao: ''Se Pon'') is a small river at Lao Bảo border area of Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam and Savannakhet Province of Laos. It forms a border between Vietnam and Laos. One side of the river belongs to V ...
, to the east is the high mountain. The prison was constructed in 1908 by the
French colonists on an area of about 10ha, completely isolated from the populated areas.
The prison was one of the 5 largest prisons in
French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
at that time.
The prison was built for local
political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
s. The prison initially had cell A and cell B, including two blocks of cells made of bamboo, earth walls, 15m long 4m high, 5 meters wide. There were only one exit and one entry, it used to be dark inside. From 1931-1932, the French colonists built two more new cells. The new houses had stone wall, concrete floor.
On 17-03-
Bảo Đại
Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was em ...
9 (30 April 1934) the Bảo Đại Emperor issued an imperial decree stating that only convicted criminals belonging to the
male sex not younger than 21 and not older than 50 may be imprisoned at the Lao Bảo Prison, and that criminals convicted under the law common to all may not be grouped together with political prisoners.
[Protectorate government of Annam - ''Bulletin administratif de l'Annam'', Publication date : 1934-04-30. Page: 867-868. (in French).] The decree further stipulated that the management of the Lao Bảo Prison and the Ban Mê Thuột Prison was left to the
European civil servants and wasn't the responsibility of the
government of the Nguyễn dynasty
The government of the Nguyễn dynasty, officially the Southern Court ( Vietnamese: ''Nam Triều''; Hán-Nôm: 南朝) and commonly referred to as the Huế Court (Vietnamese: ''Triều đình Huế''; Hán-Nôm: 朝廷化), centred around the ...
, unlike other prisons within the territory of the
French protectorate of Annam.
Today
Today, this prison is classified as a special historical site by the Vietnamese government, it is also a local popular tourists destination.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lao Bao Prison
Prisons in Vietnam
Buildings and structures in Quảng Trị province