2006年VOA标准英语-Egyptian Judges Face Disciplinary Action A

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
18 April 2006
 

Demonstrator with a zipper¹ over his mouth shows his solidarity² with judges who were punished for speaking out during an anti government protest in Cairo, March 17, 2006  
  
The Egyptian government has summoned two leading reformist judges to a disciplinary hearing that could see them fired for alleging³ that last year's elections were fraudulent. The fate of the judges is seen as a key indicator⁴ of the state of Egypt's democratic reforms.

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The two judges from Egypt's highest court of appeals, Hesham El-Bastawisy and Mahmoud Mekki, are facing disciplinary hearings for allegedly harming the reputation of the judiciary. But both judges see it as a thinly veiled effort to silence their criticism of the government.

In an interview with VOA, Judge Bastawisy said he sees the move to discipline and possibly fire him as evidence that the government is cracking down on advocates of reform.

He says anyone who talks about real reform in Egypt is turned into a defendant⁵, especially if his words start to reach people.

The Justice Ministry⁶ has not issued any public statements on the matter, but ministry officials confirm to news agencies that a disciplinary hearing is scheduled. It is not clear when it will be held.

Both of the judges are deputy heads of Egypt's highest appeals court, the Court of Cassation.

Egypt's judges were responsible for overseeing last year's presidential and parliamentary elections, but they battled with the government over how much real authority they would have. Afterward⁷, the Judges Club claimed there was significant electoral fraud, and accused some members of the judiciary of participating in it.

Judge Bastawisy says, "We call for their trial and holding them accountable for it, but unfortunately instead of trying those who committed the forgery⁸ and corruption⁹, they are trying us for uncovering it."

The judiciary is seen as the only branch of Egypt's government with any real independence from President Hosni Mubarak, but human-rights groups say the judiciary is still subject to interference.

The battle for judicial¹⁰ independence in Egypt has not received as much international media attention as the street protests by other pro-democracy activists¹², but many Egyptian analysts¹³ see the issue as even more critical. It remains¹⁴ highly sensitive, though - so much so that one leading attorney and human-rights activist¹¹ refused to speak on the record about it.

But Judge Bastawisy says the judges are getting lots of support.

He says not only judges are angry about this measure, it is the whole Egyptian nation. He says everyone is mad, and all the professional associations and civic¹⁵ groups know that the government's intention with this disciplinary hearing is silencing the judges and getting rid of anyone who calls for reform.

Earlier this month, the Judges Club refused to meet with the New York-based group Human Rights Watch. Club members said they were under intense government pressure to cancel the meeting.

1 zipper   

n.拉链；v.拉上拉链

参考例句：

• The zipper is red.这条拉链是红色的。
• The zipper is a wonderful invention.拉链是个了不起的发明。

2 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

3 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

4 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

5 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

8 forgery   

n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为）

参考例句：

• The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。
• He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 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。

11 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。

12 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。