美洲－美国释放关塔那莫湾的英国战俘

 

US Frees British Prisoners from Guantanamo

 

The last four Britons held at the U.S. military detention¹ camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been released and have returned home, where they are in police custody² for questioning.

 

The release of the four British men, suspected by the United States of having links to the al-Qaida terrorist network, culminates⁴ months of delicate diplomatic negotiations⁵.

 

The detentions⁶ without trial had upset Britain's Muslim community.  The detentions also had been a political headache for Prime Minister Tony Blair, as they fueled domestic criticism of his support for Washington's tactics in the war on terrorism.

 

Adding to the controversy⁷, the detainees' lawyers allege⁸ the men were tortured and they are contemplating⁹ a lawsuit¹⁰ against the United States.

 

One of the freed prisoners is Moazzam Begg, whose father Azmat says he is worried about his son's physical and mental health.

 

Azmat: I heard from his solicitor¹¹, his lawyer in America, that he was in a very small cell.  He spent about three years. You can imagine what his condition will be.

 

One of the lawyers involved, Clive Stafford-Smith, is appealing for British police to speedily question the men and not prolong their legal difficulties.

 

Clive Stafford-Smith: My plea to the British government is this: These guys have been through enough. My clients, I know, from meeting with them in Guantanamo Bay last week, have been tortured horribly and they need rehabilitation¹², not interrogation.

 

British authorities have given no indication of whether the four men have committed any crimes that could be prosecuted¹⁴ under British law.  British homeland security agents did question the men at least nine times during their detention at Guantanamo.

 

The Defense¹⁵ Department in Washington says it agreed to release the men after the British government gave security assurances that it would work to prevent the men from engaging in or supporting terrorist activities.

 

As for the allegations of torture, the Defense Department has opened an investigation¹⁶ following the release this month of FBI e-mails reporting numerous incidents of physical abuse of Guantanamo prisoners.

 

About 545 prisoners from more than 40 countries are still detained at the Guantanamo camp, which was first opened to hold suspected terrorists picked up on the battlefields of Afghanistan, following the 2001 al-Qaida attacks on the United States.

 

Michael Drudge¹⁷, VOA News, London.

 

 

注释:

detention [di5tenFEn] n. 拘留

custody [5kQstEdi] n. 监管

culminate³ [5kQlmineit] v. 结束

delicate [5delikit] adj. 棘手的

diplomatic [7diplE5mAtik] adj. 外交的

tactics [5tAktiks] n. 战术

detainee [7di:tei5ni:] n. 被拘留者

contemplate¹⁸ [5kCntempleit] v. 期望

solicitor [sE5lisitE] n. 律师

prosecute¹³ [5prCsikju:t] vt. 起诉

 

1 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。

2 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

3 culminate   

v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮

参考例句：

• The celebration of the centenary will culminate with a dinner.百年庆典活动将以宴会作为高潮。
• Everyone feared that the boundary dispute between these two countries would culminate in a war.人人都担心,这两国间的边境争端将以一场战争到达顶点。

4 culminates   

v.达到极点( culminate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Each civilization is born, it culminates, and it decay. 各种文明都要历经诞生，鼎盛和衰落。 来自《用法词典》
• The tower culminates in a 40-foot spire. 这塔的顶端是一个40英尺高的塔尖。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 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。

6 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。

7 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

8 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

9 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

10 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

11 solicitor   

n.初级律师，事务律师

参考例句：

• The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
• The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。

12 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

13 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

14 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

15 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。

16 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。

17 drudge   

n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳

参考例句：

• I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！
• I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。

18 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。