美国国家公共电台 NPR--Russia is jailing an increasing number of private American citizens

Russia is jailing an increasing number of private American citizens

Transcript¹

Washington and Moscow have worked out prisoner swaps³ for decades, though they used to involve spies. Today, an increasing number of private American citizens are being jailed by Russia.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The U.S. and Russia have worked out prisoner swaps for decades, but those cases used to involve trading spies for spies. Today, an increasing number of private American citizens are being jailed by Russia. This now includes a Wall Street Journal reporter.

NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre is here with us to tell us more about where things stand. Good morning, Greg.

GREG MYRE, BYLINE⁴: Hi, Michel.

MARTIN: So let's start with the latest on the detention⁵ of this Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich. Where do things stand?

MYRE: So the U.S. State Department on Monday formally designated Gershkovich as being wrongfully detained. Now, this comes two weeks - or about two weeks - after he was seized on March 29 and charged with espionage⁶, which The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government strongly reject. The designation means his case will be handled by a U.S. special envoy⁷ who specializes in these matters. But it's just - it's not clear that this will influence Russia. There's another American, Paul Whelan, who was also declared wrongfully detained after his 2018 arrest on espionage charges. He's now in his fifth year of a 16-year sentence. And we're - with Gershkovich, the U.S. embassy is still trying to get access to him. His lawyers were able to see him last week at the notorious Lefortovo Prison in Moscow.

MARTIN: So could you just remind us of how this case is different compared to those that people may be familiar with from years past?

MYRE: Yeah. If we go back to the Cold War years, the Soviet⁸ Union and the U.S. periodically detained each other's spies. They most often kicked them out of the country immediately and sent them home. Occasionally, they negotiated spy swaps, but it was often behind the scenes. Neither side really wanted much publicity⁹. They just wanted to get their spies back and debrief¹⁰ them.

But there's been a rise worldwide in these wrongful detentions¹¹ of U.S. citizens, mostly in countries where the U.S. has strained relations, and these countries are seeming to be acting¹² for political rather than legal reasons. And I spoke¹³ about this with Chris Costa. He's the head of the Spy Museum in Washington. And before that, he served at the White House as the point person for Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained.

CHRIS COSTA: In the last few years, the paradigm¹⁴ has shifted, where countries like Russia, countries like China, countries like Venezuela have made it part of their foreign policy to roll up Americans - to arrest and detain Americans.

MARTIN: Greg, how many Americans are we talking about?

MYRE: Well, currently, there are more than 50 being held in about 15 countries. This includes both hostages held by militant¹⁵ groups and wrongfully detained individuals held by states, according to groups tracking these cases. In Russia, there's been at least four American private citizens who've been wrongfully detained in recent years - the two we've just spoken about, who are still being held, and two who were released last year, including basketball star Brittney Griner, who was freed in December in a prisoner swap².

MARTIN: And it's controversial, but could the current cases be resolved the same way - another prisoner swap?

MYRE: Possible - perhaps a little too early to say with any certainty - but at the moment, the U.S. isn't holding any high-profile Russians who might be part of a swap. There are some Russians jailed in the U.S. But also, Russian leader Vladimir Putin may feel these U.S. detainees give him some leverage¹⁶ with the U.S. - a way to put pressure on the Biden administration. Also, Putin and Russia - leaders have been very critical of any media organization, domestic or foreign, over the war in Ukraine, and many Western and Russian journalists have left the country. Gershkovich, who has reported from Russia for six years, is among the few who are still in Russia.

MARTIN: That is NPR's Greg Myre. Greg, thank you so much.

MYRE: Sure thing, Michel.

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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 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

3 swaps   

交换( swap的名词复数 )； 交换物，被掉换者

参考例句：

• He swaps his old car for a new motorcycle. 他用旧车换了一辆新摩托车。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• Swaps the anchor and end points of the current selection. 交换当前所选内容的定位点和结束点。

4 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。

5 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。

6 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

7 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

10 debrief   

v.向…询问情况，听取汇报

参考例句：

• The men have been debriefed by British and Saudi officials.英国和沙特阿拉伯的官员听取了他们的情况汇报。
• He went to Rio after the CIA had debriefed him.他向中央情报局汇报完任务执行情况后就去了里约热内卢。

11 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

12 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

13 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。

14 paradigm   

n.例子，模范，词形变化表

参考例句：

• He had become the paradigm of the successful man. 他已经成为成功人士的典范。
• Moreover,the results of this research can be the new learning paradigm for digital design studios.除此之外，本研究的研究成果也可以为数位设计课程建立一个新的学习范例。

15 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

16 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。