VOA常速英语2007年-Prison Term for Egyptian Police in Widely-Publi

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo, Egypt
06 November 2007

An Egyptian court sentenced two police officers Monday to three years in prison for torturing a detainee.  The police had videotaped the attack in order to further humiliate¹ the victim, but that recording² ended up being used against them.  Although human-rights activists³ say torture by Egyptian security services is widespread, it is very unusual for officers to be convicted of abuses.  As VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough reports from Cairo, some human-rights campaigners see little evidence that this case indicates a major change.

The judge sentenced Islam Nabih and Reda Fatih to three years in prison each for their sexual assault on a detainee, an attack captured on a grainy cellphone video recording that horrified⁴ the nation. 

The videotape - recorded by the policemen - showed Emad el-Kabir screaming for mercy as police officers sodomized him with a wooden stick.

The gruesome video was leaked to Egyptian-activist bloggers, who posted it on the Internet.  It created a huge controversy⁵, and made strong evidence in court when two of the officers eventually faced trial. 

Human-rights groups have been documenting torture in Egyptian prisons and police stations for decades.  But the government denies that torture is systematic⁶. 

It is rare for officers accused of abuses to face trial, let alone be convicted.  And it is not clear that the convictions of Nabih and Fatih point to things changing.

In this case, Human Rights Watch Middle East advocate Gasser Abdel-Razek says the judge issued the lightest sentence that the law allowed, citing the officers' youth and inexperience.

"Despite the fact of how high-profile that case was, the judge chose the lowest possible sentence, and this in itself is worrying," Abdel-Razek said.

Abdel-Razek says the Emad el-Kabir case was one of the strongest on record, with video evidence and a victim who was willing to risk stigma⁷ and possible retaliation⁸ in order to speak publicly about his case.

After the assault became public, Kabir was sentenced to three months in jail for resisting arrest.

Few torture victims in Egypt are willing to press charges at all, let alone do so as publicly as Kabir - especially when a sexual assault is involved.  And human-rights advocates say ending torture in Egypt will require systemic changes. 

The group Amnesty International said the convictions of Nabih and Fatih are a welcome and positive step, but need to be followed up by thorough investigations⁹ into other allegations of police torture, and by holding those responsible to account.

Other well-documented cases of torture by security services have either gone un-prosecuted or have been thrown out of court.  That happened as recently as September, when a judge rejected a case against a State Security officer in connection to the death of a prisoner, whose body showed signs that he had been severely¹⁰ beaten and electrocuted.  The case was thrown out despite detailed¹¹ evidence, including autopsy¹² findings and photos of extensive bruising¹³ and burns to his mouth, chest and genitals.  

Kabir's lawyer, Nasser Amin, says he hopes the conviction and sentencing will encourage other victims to come forward and press charges, putting pressure on the government to make the needed changes. 

But Abdel-Razek of Human Rights Watch is not so sure.

"I think it would be very wrong to assume that the sentencing of a police officer and police assistant in that case is an indication of a change in policy," Abdel-Razek said.  "The fact is if there is an intention, or there is political will to deal with the issue of torture in Egypt, very simple steps can be taken."

Abdel-Razek says for the past 20 years human-rights activists have been calling for a revision of the definition of torture in the Egyptian penal¹⁴ code.

"And they do not do it because, in the words of the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, torture in Egypt is a state policy," Abdel-Razek said.  "It is systematic, it is organized, and it is done with the approval of the government.  If they want to say that this is not a policy, they need to change the definition of the crime of torture in the penal code."

Each year, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture requests an invitation to visit Egypt, but for years that request has gone unanswered.

Other human-rights activists say the Egyptian legal system relies too heavily on obtaining confessions¹⁵ to solve crimes, rather than on accumulating other evidence against an accused.  This, the activists say, encourages officers to beat confessions out of suspects, and points to a need for better training of police officers, prosecutors¹⁶ and judges.  

1 humiliate   

v.使羞辱，使丢脸[同]disgrace

参考例句：

• What right had they to bully and humiliate people like this?凭什么把人欺侮到这个地步呢？
• They pay me empty compliments which only humiliate me.他们虚情假意地恭维我，这只能使我感到羞辱。

2 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

3 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》

4 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

5 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

6 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

7 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

8 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

10 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

11 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

12 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

13 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

14 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。

15 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。