2006年VOA标准英语-Rice Disappointed, Concerned by Death Sentences

By David Gollust
State Department
19 December 2006

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she is disappointed and concerned by the death sentences handed down by a Libyan court against five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor convicted of infecting Libyan children with the HIV/AIDS virus. Rice and Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin, who held talks Tuesday, urged the early release of those accused. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, shakes hands with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin at the State Department in Washington

Both Rice and her Bulgarian counterpart are expressing concern and disappointment over the decision of the Libyan court. But both are clearly holding out hope that the death sentences will not be carried out and that the six medical practitioners¹, who have been jailed since 1999, will eventually be released.

The six deny charges that they deliberately² infected more than 400 children at a Libyan hospital in the late 1990's. They were found guilty in an initial trial in 2004 and sentenced to die, but the Libyan supreme³ court ordered a retrial, which has now ended with the same verdict and sentence.

In a talk with reporters as she began a meeting with Foreign Minister Kalfin, Secretary Rice expressed sympathy over the plight⁴ of the infected Libyan children, of whom about 50 have died of AIDS. But she repeated a long-standing U.S. call for the release of the Bulgarians and the Palestinian:

"We understand very much that there are children who have suffered and we are concerned for their suffering, and that of their families," said Ms. Rice.  "But we also are concerned that these medics will be allowed to go home at the earlier possible date. These are people who deserve to go home, and we are very disappointed at the outcome of this verdict. And I want you to know, minister, that we will continue to work for their early return to Bulgaria."

Foreign Minister Kalfin, for his part, also stressed compassion⁵ for the children in the case, but reaffirmed his government's stand that the defendants⁶ are not guilty and should, at long last, be allowed to return home:

"There is all the reason to believe that they are innocent and they shouldn't be related to his tragedy," he said.  "And we feel compassionate⁷ also, and wish all the sympathy with the tragedy of the children. So hopefully, we shall do our best to urge the Libyan authorities, including the judicial⁸ authorities, to go ahead and complete the whole procedure and to allow the nurses to come home to Bulgaria."

European governments and human rights organizations have also been critical of Libya's handling of the case. Some leading Western scientists say that negligence⁹ and poor hygiene¹⁰ at the Libyan hospital are responsible for the infections, and that the Palestinian and the Bulgarians were made scapegoats¹¹ for the outbreak.

A study published by a panel of scientists in the British medical journal "Nature" earlier this month said the strain of the HIV/AIDS virus that infected the children has been present at the Benghazi hospital before the six practitioners arrived in 1998, and had probably been spread by improperly¹² sterilized¹³ syringes and other equipment.

The case has slowed Libya's rapprochement with the United States and Western Europe, which began in 2003 when the government of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi scrapped¹⁴ its weapons of mass destruction programs and accepted responsibility for a 1988 bombing of an American jetliner.

The United States restored full diplomatic relations with Libya earlier this year, but U.S. official visits to that country have been limited to the sub-ministerial level.

1 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

5 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

6 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

7 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

8 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

9 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

10 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

11 scapegoats   

n.代人受过的人，替罪羊( scapegoat的名词复数 )v.使成为替罪羊( scapegoat的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They were made the scapegoats for the misfire of the program. 他们成了那个计划失败的替罪羊。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Only some of the guards and a minor hotel employee, chosen as scapegoats, were imprisoned. 只有一些保镖和那个旅馆的小职员当了替罪羊，被关进了监狱。 来自辞典例句

12 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

13 sterilized   

v.消毒( sterilize的过去式和过去分词 )；使无菌；使失去生育能力；使绝育

参考例句：

• My wife was sterilized after the birth of her fourth child. 我妻子生完第4个孩子后做了绝育手术。 来自辞典例句
• All surgical instruments must be sterilized before use. 所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。 来自辞典例句

14 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。