西部落：利比里亚前总统泰勒被判战争罪

The trial chamber¹ unanimously finds you guilty...

联合国塞拉利昂特别法庭一致裁决你有罪...

After five years, 115 witnesses and 50,000 pages of gruesome testimony², the trial reached its conclusion, finding Charles Taylor guilty of aiding and abetting³ war crimes in Sierra Leone.

5年后，115名证人和5万页指控其罄竹难书罪行的证词，终于让特别法庭做出了裁决，宣判利比里亚前总统查尔斯·泰勒因资助邻国塞拉利昂内战中的反政府武装，犯有战争罪与反人类罪。

The 64-year-old former president blinked rapidly as the verdicts were delivered, but throughout the process, he betrayed little emotion, occasionly making notes, appearing board as the judge summed up the case against him.

法庭做出这样的判决后，这位64岁的前总统很快得眨了眨眼。然而在整个审判过程中，他表现出极少的情感，只是偶尔做一下笔记，在法官概述案情时出庭。

Taylor was a warlord in neighbouring Liberia when the civil conflicts began in Sierra Leone.

在塞拉利昂爆发内战时，泰勒是邻国利比亚的最高军事统帅。

When he became president in 1997, he funded weapons and support to the rebel soldiers known as the Revolutionary United Front in exchange for diamands.

泰勒在1997年当上总统，他通过向塞拉利昂反政府武装“革命联合阵线”提供武器换取血钻。

The RUF employed babaric methods: raping⁴, child enslavement, maiming enemies with machetes. The court had graphic⁵ examples of that brutality⁶.

“革命联合阵线”在战争期间强奸妇女，招募未成年人入伍，用砍刀致残俘虏。法院有照片证实这种暴行。

Charles Taylor's defense⁷ team acknowledged the crimes had been committed over the border, but said the crimes had nothing to do with him.

查尔斯·泰勒的辩护团队知道他在边境的所作所为，但还矢口否认他所犯下的罪行。

So the prosecution⁸ had to establish he had received the so-called blood diamands as payment for his support. They called witnesses including the Hollywood actress Mia Farrow and reluctant Naomi Campbell, who testified she'd been given gems⁹ by Taylor at a banquet hosted by Nelson Mandela.

所以起诉方须证实泰勒收取了提供武器所得的报酬，即所谓的血钻。起诉方声称证人包括好莱坞女演员米亚·法罗和不愿意卷入此事的巴西超模娜欧米·康贝尔，后者在证词中说她在南非前总统纳尔逊·德拉举办的宴会上接收了泰勒赠送的珠宝。

When I was sleeping, I heard a knock at my door, and I opened my door, and two men were there and gave me a pouch¹⁰ and said a gift for you.

当时我正在睡觉，听到有人在敲门，于是我把门打开，看见两个男人站在门口，然后他们给了我一个袋子，说是送我的礼物。

Taylor becomes the first former head of state to be successfully linked to war crimes at an international court since the Nuremburg trials, and sets undeniable precedents¹².

泰勒是自纽伦堡审判（二战结束时德国纳粹战犯接受的国际法庭审判）以来，首位前国家元首被国际法庭宣判犯有战争罪，开创了不容置疑的先例。

There were always unique facts in any prosecution, but in a broader sense, of course, it did set a precedent¹¹, because this is the first case where the accused was indicted¹³ while he was the president of a country. That has actually come to judgement.

任何起诉案件都有其独特之处，但是从广义来讲，它确实开辟了一个先例，因为这个案件的被告是在担任一个国家总统职位时受到指控。

Taylor will return to the court on the 16 of May as part of the sentencing process. The judges will then decide how long they believe he should spend behind bars, before making that announcement a fortnight later.

依照审判程序，泰勒3于月16号再次出庭。法官会决定把他严禁在监牢里多长时间，之后的两个星期会宣布判决。

If his appeal is un successful, he will serve his sentence in a UK jail. Britain was the colonial power of Sierra Leone and offered to imprison¹⁴ him if the Netherlands hosted the trial.

如果上诉失败，泰勒将被送往英国的一个监狱服刑。塞拉利昂曾是英国的殖民地，英国表示愿意提供监狱，前提是在荷兰进行审判。

Charles Taylor's conviction is a reminder¹⁵ of a turbulent and violent decade in West Africa as the world flexes¹⁶ the legal muscle to punish those who bankrolled such monster crimes.

查尔斯·泰勒被定罪让人们回忆起西非动荡混乱的十年内战。国际社会也在惩罚资助这种可怕战争的罪行上大显其手。

1 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

2 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

3 abetting   

v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的现在分词 )；煽动；怂恿；支持

参考例句：

• On Earth, unknowingly abetting a criminal doesn't merit this kind of punishment. 在地球上，不知不觉地帮助罪犯并不构成这种惩罚。 来自电影对白
• "By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder." 援助和唆使谋杀的塔利班政权与杀人犯同罪。 来自互联网

4 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

5 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

6 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

7 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。

8 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。

9 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

10 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

11 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

12 precedents   

引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例

参考例句：

• There is no lack of precedents in this connection. 不乏先例。
• He copied after bad precedents. 他仿效恶例。

13 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

14 imprison   

vt.监禁，关押，限制，束缚

参考例句：

• The effect of this one is going to imprison you for life.而这件事的影响力则会让你被终身监禁。
• Dutch colonial authorities imprisoned him for his part in the independence movement.荷兰殖民当局因他参加独立运动而把他关押了起来。

15 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

16 flexes   

v.屈曲( flex的第三人称单数 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• MCC RE Flexes Its Powerful Muscle Across the Country. 中冶置业：全国彰显雄厚实力。 来自互联网
• Yeah, well, maybe you need to do a few more butt flexes. 是吗？可能你是需要做更多的臀部运动吧。 来自互联网