古巴母亲为被关押儿子的自由而辩

 

Cuban Mothers Plead For Imprisoned¹ Sons' Release

古巴母亲为被关押儿子的自由而辩

 

Mothers of Cuban political prisoners are appealing to the United Nations Human Rights Commission to help them obtain the release of their children.  The women are mothers of men who are among 79 dissidents arrested and given long prison sentences by Cuban authorities two years ago.

 

Blanca Gonzalez says she has come to plead with the U.N. Human Rights Commission to help her son and all the other sons who have been unjustly locked away in prison.

 

She says her 35-year-old son, an independent journalist, is serving a 25-year sentence for having written articles critical of Fidel Castro's regime. Since his incarceration² two years ago, she says her son, Normando Hernandez Gonzalez, has been subjected to lengthy³ interrogations, beaten up and placed in solitary⁴ confinement⁵.

 

She says he was transferred to a high security holding area with ordinary prisoners suffering from tuberculosis⁶. Ms. Gonzalez says her son was a healthy man when he entered prison. Now, he lies in a prison hospital being treated for tuberculosis.

 

Ms. Gonzalez: As a mother I ask for help so that my son is freed from prison. He has been committed unjustly to 25 years in prison. He has not committed any crime. He simply was a journalist, never violent, never did any harm to the Castro government. He simply told the truth.

 

Ms. Gonzalez says her son has, on numerous occasions, been denied medical treatment, family visits and the right to practice his religion.

 

The 79 dissidents were arrested in March and April 2003. This spring crackdown occurred around the time of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Cuban dissidents say the timing⁷ was deliberately⁸ chosen because attention would be diverted from the arrests.

 

A report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Commission by a special U.N. investigator⁹ says these people were arrested while working as journalists, writers, members of political parties, opposition¹⁰ trade unions and human rights defenders¹¹. All of them have drawn¹² long prison sentences ranging from six to 28 years.

 

The Cuban government has since released 18 prisoners on humanitarian¹³ grounds but continues to detain 61 others. Amnesty International considers the dissidents as prisoners of conscience and calls for their release.

 

While in Geneva, the Cuban mothers are meeting with special U.N. investigators¹⁴ dealing¹⁵ with Violence Against Women, Human Rights Defenders and Arbitrary Detention¹⁶.

 

In her presentation to the commission, Blanca Gonzalez, noted¹⁷ that her son was one of some 300 political prisoners serving long and unjust sentences. She asked for their human rights to be respected and called for an end to political repression¹⁸.

 

Lisa Schlein, for VOA News, Geneva.

 

 

注释:

appeal to 上诉

United Nations Human Rights Commission 联合国人权委员会

dissident [5disidEnt] n. 持不同政见者

subject to 遭受

interrogation [in7terE5^eiFEn] n. 审问

solitary confinement 单独监禁

deliberately [di5libErEtli] adv. 故意地

Amnesty International 国际特赦组织

commission [kE5miFEn] n. 委托，代理

1 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

2 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

3 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

4 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

5 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

6 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

7 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

8 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

9 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

13 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

14 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

16 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

17 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

18 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。