2006年VOA标准英语-Liberian Torture Victims Eager to See Charles T

By Kari Barber
Dakar
15 December 2006

In Liberia, many are welcoming the recent U.S. indictment¹ of Charles Taylor Jr., son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, on counts of torture. This is the first time the U.S. government has used its anti-torture law to bring charges against a U.S. citizen for abuses committed abroad. A lawyer representing one victim of the younger Taylor in a civil suit says he and his client will be watching the proceedings² closely. Kari Barber reports from our West Africa bureau in Dakar.

Charles Taylor Jr., known as Chuckie, commanded the infamous³ Anti-Terrorist Unit during his father's presidency⁴ in Liberia. Witnesses say the unit was responsible for attacks on civilians⁵ and that Chuckie Taylor himself tortured prisoners and killed his own military trainees⁶.

Victims in Liberia are speaking out about the abuses they say they incurred⁷ at the hands of the former president's son.

Adolphus Willie, who works as a shoeshiner, is quoted as saying he was arrested by Chuckie Taylor's men after trying to flee a gun battle between militias⁸. He says he was put in water with feces and that Taylor himself forced him to stare into the sun for several hours.

One taxi driver says Taylor's unit accused him of being a rebel fighter. He says Taylor Jr. stripped him naked, wrapped him in a thin sponge and flogged him for hours with sticks and military belts.

Then, he says, he was detained for 10 months. He says he can still feel the pains in his back from the beatings.

Taylor was born in Massachussetts. In court in the United States, where he was indicted⁹, Taylor denied any wrongdoing.

Liberian human rights activist¹⁰ Aloysius Toe says for those who believe they have been victims of torture, Taylor Jr.'s indictment gives hope that justice may be served.

He said, "The news of this indictment has given them some hope that indeed the man who inflicted¹¹ harm upon them is not going to go unpunished."

"So yes there are a lot of people in Liberia currently who were victimized by acts of torture by Mr. Chuckie," he added.

For Liberians, Toe says, Taylor's indictment is a sign that the impunity¹² enjoyed by many of Liberia's war criminals may be breaking down.

Matt Eisenbrandt is legal director at The Center for Justice and Accountability, a U.S. non-governmental organization that organizes civil suits on behalf of torture survivors¹³. Since March, Eisenbrandt has been working on a case against Taylor on behalf of a client who says Taylor personally tortured him. Eisenbrandt says he and his client are eager to see the results of the U.S. grand jury indictment.

"We represent a person who was tortured directly by Chuckie Taylor, and we are thrilled to see that the U.S. government has for the first time indicted someone on torture charges. We are going to be monitoring that case closely, and our client is very interested in seeing him prosecuted¹⁴ criminally," he said.

Eisenbrandt says in the past torture victims living in the United States, like his client, could only press civil suits against their alleged¹⁵ torturers. Abusers would not face jail time under a civil suit.

Eisenbrandt says his phone line is open to those who claim Taylor, or other Liberians living in the U.S., have tortured them.

He said, "We know that there are other Liberian human rights abusers in the United States, and we are very receptive to anybody who wants to call and talk to us about mechanisms¹⁶ for accountability for what has happened to them."

Eisenbrandt says he has already received calls from many people who say they were victimized by Chuckie Taylor.

Chuckie Taylor, along with his father, Charles Taylor, was forced to flee Liberia in 2003. Taylor Jr. was arrested at Miami International Airport on passport-fraud charges in March when he tried to re-enter the United States.

Charles Taylor is facing war crimes charges and charges against humanity in a U.N.-backed special court for his involvement in Sierra Leone's civil war.

1 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

2 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

3 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

6 trainees   

新兵( trainee的名词复数 )； 练习生； 接受训练的人； 训练中的动物

参考例句：

• We've taken on our full complement of new trainees. 我们招收的新学员已经满额了。
• The trainees were put through an assault course. 受训人员接受了突击训练课程。

7 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

8 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

9 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

10 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

11 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

12 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

13 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

14 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

15 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

16 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》