美国国家公共电台 NPR--Pakistani man who was tortured by the CIA is released from Guantanamo Bay

Pakistani man who was tortured by the CIA is released from Guantanamo Bay

Transcript¹

A prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention² camp in Cuba, who sued the Biden administration for unlawful imprisonment³, has been released, and is now living in Belize.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

An inmate⁴ at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been released to Belize.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The former prisoner is 42 years old. He's a native of Pakistan, and his name is Majid Khan. He sued the Biden administration for unlawful imprisonment last year.

FADEL: NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer has been covering Khan's release. Sacha, good morning.

SACHA PFEIFFER, BYLINE⁵: Good morning.

FADEL: So tell us about Majid Khan. Who is he?

PFEIFFER: He was an unusual Guantanamo prisoner in several ways. He's a Pakistani citizen, but he grew up in Maryland, near Baltimore. And more than a decade ago, he pleaded guilty in Guantanamo's military court to being an al-Qaida courier. And there was some drama during his sentencing because a military jury urged that he get leniency⁶. This was after jurors heard how he had been tortured at a secret CIA prison after being captured. Now, Khan completed his sentence almost a year ago, and he was free to leave Guantanamo, but the United States kept holding him.

FADEL: OK, so Khan pleads guilty after being tortured, completes his sentence. Why was he still being held?

PFEIFFER: Well, there were no legal grounds. It's just that the U.S. could not find another country to take him. He could not be safely transferred to Pakistan because he had cooperated with U.S. authorities. And then last summer, U.S. officials said they'd been in touch with 11 countries but apparently⁷ could not find any takers. And, Leila, this is a big issue at Guantanamo. It's a common problem because the majority of Gitmo prisoners have been approved for release but are still being held. Some of them have been in that limbo⁸ state for more than a decade.

FADEL: Wow.

PFEIFFER: And that's even though they've never been charged with a crime. But these transfer deals are delicate. They're complicated negotiations⁹. So a lot of the men are cleared to go, but they remain behind bars.

FADEL: So Belize agrees to take Khan. Does he have any connection to Belize?

PFEIFFER: No, he doesn't. And the U.S. has not explained why Belize agreed to take him. We're talking, of course, about a small, English-speaking country in Central America. It has a population of only about 400,000 people. But countries that accept former Guantanamo prisoners have to agree to treat them humanely¹⁰ and provide security assurances. And Belize has emphasized that Khan is there as a free man on humanitarian¹¹ grounds, just as if he were a migrant or a refugee looking for a second chance. I spoke¹² with one of Khan's lawyers, and she's elated he's been released. But she did have harsh words for the U.S. government's operation at Guantanamo. Her name is Katya Jestin. And here's part of what she told me.

KATYA JESTIN: In what system do you finish your sentence when you are sentenced by a court of law and remain in jail? Where does that happen? Certainly not in a democracy that is governed by a system of laws.

FADEL: What is the U.S. government saying about Khan's release?

PFEIFFER: Let me read to you from the Defense¹³ Department's announcement about his transfer. It says in part, quote, "The United States appreciates the willingness of the government of Belize and other partners to support ongoing¹⁴ U.S. efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility." That's the end of the quote.

FADEL: So how many prisoners are still at Guantanamo? And how many are now and still in Khan's position, where they were cleared for release?

PFEIFFER: So 34 men remain. Twenty of them fall in the category we talked about of never having been charged with anything and being approved for release, yet sitting in prison while the U.S. tries to find countries to take them. Now, their cases are arguably more egregious¹⁵ than Khan's because at least he was charged with a crime and went through a court process. These others are considered forever prisoners, meaning held indefinitely without charge or trial.

FADEL: Forever prisoners. NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer, thank you.

PFEIFFER: You're welcome.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

3 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

4 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 leniency   

n.宽大（不严厉）

参考例句：

• udges are advised to show greater leniency towards first-time offenders.建议法官对初犯者宽大处理。
• Police offer leniency to criminals in return for information.警方给罪犯宽大处理以换取情报。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 humanely   

adv.仁慈地；人道地；富人情地；慈悲地

参考例句：

• Is the primary persona being treated humanely by the product? 该产品对待首要人物角色时是否有人情味？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• In any event, China's interest in treating criminals more humanely has limits. 无论如何，中国对更人道地对待罪犯的兴趣有限。 来自互联网

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 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。

14 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

15 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。