VOA慢速英语2019--缅甸法院驳回路透记者上诉

Myanmar High Court Rejects Final Appeal of Jailed Journalists

Myanmar’s top court rejected Tuesday the final appeal of two Reuters journalists jailed while working on an investigation¹ into the killing² of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys.

The Supreme³ Court’s decision upheld seven-year prison sentences for Wa Lone⁴ and Kyaw Soe Oo. The court did not give a reason for its ruling, which was quickly condemned⁵ by rights groups.

The two reporters were arrested in December 2017 and sentenced last September. They were charged with illegally possessing official documents. The documents related to security operations taking place in the western state of Rakhine.

In August 2017, suspected Rohingya militants⁶ launched attacks against state security forces in Rakhine. In answer, government troops carried out attacks against the rebels and their supporters. About 700,000 Rohingya fled the area to escape the violence. Most are now living in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh.

The United Nations has described the Myanmar military operation as a well-organized example of ethnic⁷ cleansing⁸. Myanmar officials have denied the military carried out human rights abuses. It said the campaign was necessary to defend against attacks by Rohingya militants.

The chief legal officer for Reuters, Gail Gove, reacted to the court’s rejection⁹ of the appeal. "Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo did not commit any crime, nor was there any proof that they did," Gove said.

She added: "Instead, they were victims of a police set-up to silence their truthful¹⁰ reporting. We will continue to do all we can to free them as soon as possible."

Phil Robertson is the deputy Asia director for New York-based Human Rights Watch. He repeated the organization’s opposition¹¹ to the legal actions against the two reporters, who in his words, were just “doing their jobs as investigative journalists.”

“Sadly, when it comes to media freedom, both Myanmar’s military and the civilian¹² government seem equally determined¹³ to extinguish any ability to question their misrule and rights violations,” Robertson said.

The two were not present for Tuesday’s decision, but their wives were. Kyaw Soe Oo’s wife, Chit Su, broke down in tears when the ruling was read. “Both he and I hoped for the best,” she told reporters. “I am terribly sad for this decision.”

A lawyer for the two journalists in Myanmar said the pair could still seek their freedom by appealing directly to the president’s office or Myanmar’s legislature. The president could reduce the sentence, order a retrial or have the two men released. Legislative¹⁴ action would require a longer, more complex process.

Rights groups have urged Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to use her influence to intervene in the case. But so far, she has not done so.

The investigation the journalists were working on was completed by other Reuters employees and published in 2018. The coverage¹⁵ was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

determined – adj. strong desire to do or complete something

extinguish – v. to stop something

1 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。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 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。

4 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

5 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

9 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

10 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

11 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

12 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

15 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。