VOA标准英语2011--British Court Rules Wikileaks Founder Should Be Extradited

British Court Rules Wikileaks Founder¹ Should Be Extradited

 

A British court has ruled that the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, should be extradited to Sweden to face accusations² of sexual assault and rape³. The ruling comes as his whistleblowing organization - which published thousands of stolen, confidential⁴ cables from U.S. embassies - struggles to raise funds.

London’s High Court rejected Julian Assange’s appeal against his extradition⁵ to Sweden Wednesday morning.

The Wikileaks founder emerged from the hearing still adamant⁶ that the legal process is flawed.

"I have not been charged with any crime in any country," said Assange. "Despite this, the European arrest warrant is so restrictive that it prevents UK courts from considering the facts of a case as judges have made clear here today. We will be considering our next step in the days ahead.”

Prosecutors⁷ in Sweden want to question Assange about allegations of rape and sexual assault against two women - charges he denies.

His lawyers have been fighting the extradition request since his arrest a year ago.

WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange leaves the High Court in London, November 2, 2011.

Many Wikileaks supporters claim the extradition request is politically motivated by governments angered at the organization’s activities.

In November last year, Wikileaks published thousands of stolen, confidential U.S. diplomatic cables. They included sensitive information on anti-terrorism activities and candid⁸ views on foreign leaders.

Previous leaks included tens of thousands of confidential files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Assange has claimed he risks being handed over to the United States for prosecution⁹, if sent to Sweden.

Charlie Beckett, media expert at the London School of Economics has just written a book on Wikileaks.

“I don’t think you have to be paranoid to think that they are actually trying to ‘get’ Wikileaks," said Beckett. "But I’m not sure that this legal process has got anything to do with that. There’s enough pressure coming from the American government, from governments around the world frankly¹⁰, in alliance with corporations who are putting the heat upon Wikileaks, they’re making it much harder for Wikileaks to operate.”

The latest setback¹¹ for Julian Assange comes as Wikileaks struggles for funding.

Government pressure saw companies like Visa, Mastercard and Paypal stop processing donations to the organization. Analysts¹² say 95 percent of its funding has dried up.

That does not mean the end of new types of media like Wikileaks, says author Charlie Beckett.

“We still have millions of people out there who are very skeptical¹³ about mainstream¹⁴ media and mainstream politics," said the author. "We’ve got a networked information age where it’s much more vulnerable to large-scale disclosure of secrets. And so even if Wikileaks disappears, leaking and this kind of radical¹⁵ website activity, that will certainly not disappear.”

Julian Assange based Wikileaks in Sweden because he believed its laws on freedom of speech would shield it from prosecution.

Now he has two weeks to appeal to Britain’s Supreme¹⁶ Court or he will be extradited to Sweden to face the charges of rape and sexual assault.

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

3 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

4 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

5 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

6 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

7 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。

8 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

9 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

10 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

12 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。

13 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

14 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

15 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

16 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。