Lao Bao Prison is a prison situated in
Lao Bảo,
Quảng Trị, 22 km from
Khe Sanh, in the village of Duy Tan, commune of TanThanh, district of
Hướng Hóa, to the west is the
Sepon river, 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), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...
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 ...
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 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, 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