VOA标准英语2008年-Russia Reveals Beating Deaths of 4 Prison Inmat

By Peter Fedynsky
Moscow
03 June 2008

Russian officials have confirmed the beating deaths of four inmates¹ at a prison in the Ural Mountains, allegedly at the hands of their guards. Correspondent Peter Fedynsky has this report from VOA's Moscow Bureau.

Russian officials say the deaths occurred Saturday at the Kopeysk Penal³ Colony Number One in the Ural Mountains region of Chelyabinsk. Elena Kalinina, a representative of the local investigator's office explained the alleged² circumstances in a telephone interview with VOA.

Kalinina says the inmates had recently been transferred to the prison. During an exercise walk, they allegedly did not follow orders, so they were handcuffed and physical force was used against them. She says the prisoners were then placed in separate cells. By evening, their condition deteriorated⁴ so medical technicians were called, but they could not save the victims.

Kalinina says a preliminary examination indicates the inmates died of post-traumatic shock resulting from soft tissue hemorrhage. She notes that the investigation⁵ is looking into alleged violations⁶ of two articles of the Russian criminal code: 286 for exceeding official authority through use of excessive force or methods that result in serious consequences; and 111 for inflicting⁷ serious injury that results in death. The penalty for excessive use of force is ten years in prison and 15 years for causing an individual's death.

Human rights activist⁸ Lev Ponomarev of Russia's independent For Human Rights organization told VOA that the group received many letters from the Kopeysk prison complaining of torture and very harsh conditions. Ponomarev says urgent prison reforms are needed, beginning with the replacement⁹ of senior officials who he says have done nothing to improve conditions that have existed in Russian prisons for decades. He says the current approach to prison inspection¹⁰ is unacceptable.

First of all human rights activists¹¹ must now provide administrators¹² with advance notice to conduct inspections¹³, which Ponomarev says makes no sense, because officials have learned how to hide people. He adds that it's ridiculous, even stupid, to interview prisoners in the presence of corrections officials.

Russian authorities say there will also be an investigation of alleged gross misconduct by prisoners themselves, which may have led to disorder¹⁴ at the Kopeysk penal colony.

1 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

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 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

7 inflicting   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。
• It's impossible to do research without inflicting some pain on animals. 搞研究不让动物遭点罪是不可能的。

8 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。

9 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

10 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

11 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》

12 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

13 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。