2007年VOA标准英语-Former Liberian President Taylor's Trial Delaye

By Lauren Comiteau
The Hague
25 June 2007

The trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor resumed briefly¹ Monday in the Hague, with the defendant² once again boycotting³ the proceedings⁴. At issue is his defense⁵, which Taylor says is inadequate⁶. He is charged with 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in orchestrating the brutal⁷ 11-year civil war in Sierra Leone. Lauren Comiteau is covering the trial and has this report for VOA.

Charles Taylor (2006 file photo)

Prosecutors⁸ were ready to call their first witnesses again in a trial that has already had two other false starts. But with Charles Taylor not in the dock - again - judges were left issuing orders about what Taylor's defense should look like. The former leader who is accused of fomenting⁹ a civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone in order to gain control of its diamond wealth said earlier this month that he wont¹⁰ come to court to participate in a legal charade¹¹.

He demanded top quality lawyers and high level investigators¹³ to match the resources he says the prosecutors have. He fired his last lawyer, saying he wanted to represent himself.

On Monday, the principal defender¹⁴, a court official responsible for defense issues, said Charles Taylor was willing to cooperate if his demands were met. Presiding judge Julia Sebutinde said Taylor was obliged to appear at his trial, but the visibly fed-up judge agreed that his defense was not given the highest priority, and she blamed that on the court officials.

She said she has been warning them for months about a potential delay. On Monday, the trial chamber's worst fears have been realized.

"Nothing practical seems to have been done to address the problems," she said. "The focus of the registry has not been to provide the defendant with adequate representation as provided by Article 17 of the statute¹⁵. Rather, the registry's focus has been on conserving¹⁶ funds and staying within budgetary constraints¹⁷. In the trial chamber's view, the whole issue has wrongly boiled down to availability of finances, rather than fair trial issues being addressed."

Judge Sebutinde said if the trial is to be expeditious¹⁸ and fair adequate money and resources must be provided for Taylor. She then ordered the registry to set up some kind of representation for him by next week. And by the end of the month, she said she wants to see a fully¹⁹ functioning defense team in place, including three lawyers and a senior investigator¹².

The principal defender objected, saying there was not enough time, but the judge made it absolutely clear that in one-week's time, the prosecution's case will begin.

1 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

2 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。

3 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

4 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

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

7 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

8 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。

9 fomenting   

v.激起，煽动（麻烦等）( foment的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They accused him of fomenting political unrest. 他们指控他煽动政治动乱。
• Three sailors were fomenting a mutiny on the ship. 三个水手正在船上煽动叛变。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 wont   

adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯

参考例句：

• He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
• It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。

11 charade   

n.用动作等表演文字意义的字谜游戏

参考例句：

• You must not refine too much upon this charade.你切不可过分推敲这个字谜。
• His poems,despite their dignity and felicity,have an air of charade.他的诗篇虽然庄严巧妙，却有猜迷之嫌。

12 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。

13 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》

14 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

15 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

16 conserving   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
• Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网

17 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

18 expeditious   

adj.迅速的，敏捷的

参考例句：

• They are almost as expeditious and effectual as Aladdin's lamp.他们几乎像如意神灯那么迅速有效。
• It is more convenien,expeditious and economical than telephone or telegram.它比电话或电报更方便、迅速和经济。

19 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。