2007年VOA标准英语-Ethiopian Prosecutor Seeks Death Penalty for Co

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
09 July 2007

Ethiopian prosecutors² are demanding the death penalty for 38 members of the opposition⁴ who were convicted of treason and trying to overthrow⁵ the government. As Nick Wadhams reports from our East Africa bureau in Nairobi, observers fear the demand is the latest evidence of a political crackdown in Ethiopia.

The 38 were convicted in June for their role in demonstrations⁶ two years ago that saw hundreds of thousands of people protest the results of national elections. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government retained power in the vote that European Union and other observers described as seriously flawed.

The top-court prosecutor¹, Abraha Tetemke, said the 38 had created havoc⁷, destroyed state property, and were responsible for the deaths of state security forces during the protests. He said they deserved to be sentenced to death as a result.

They have until Wednesday to give the court evidence to ease their sentence. They had refused to defend themselves during their trial because they believed the process was flawed, so it is not clear if they will bring anything forward. The next hearing is set for July 16.

A Kenyan human rights lawyer, Otendo Amoto, expressed concern that Ethiopia's government is manipulating the courts to destroy the opposition.

"In such circumstances, the courts need to be extra careful so that they are not used to fight political battles and to fix political opponents," he said. "I think this is repression⁸ in its highest form. The use of penal³ instruments to fight political battles is actually worse than using crude weapons to clamp down on opponents."

At total of 193 demonstrators and six police people were killed in post-election violence, and more than 100 opposition figures were put on trial for their role in the protests.

Critics like Amoto fear the government has become more authoritarian⁹ in the years since the election. Last week, the U.S.-based human rights group Human Rights Watch accused the government of widespread abuses against civilians¹⁰ in the eastern Ogaden region as it pursues a local rebel group.

And in March, the U.S. State Department's annual human rights report accused the government of extrajudicial killings¹¹, torture and arbitrary detention¹² of some members of the political opposition. In rural areas, opposition parties are not allowed to rent office space and say they are routinely harassed¹³ by members of Prime Minister Meles' ruling EPRDF party.

Nonetheless, Ethiopia has remained a critical U.S. ally in the region and in the war on terror. Washington-backed Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in December and continues to help train its troops.

The prime minister had earlier rejected demands from western diplomats¹⁴ that the 38 jailed opposition members be released. For several weeks, some observers had suggested that he would pardon the prisoners as a concession¹⁵ to western concerns. But he later appeared to rule that out when he said the courts must decide the issue.

Ethiopian courts have sentenced several people to death in recent years but an execution has not been carried out since the 1990s.

1 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

2 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。

3 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。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

7 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

8 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

9 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

10 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。

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

12 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

13 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

14 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。