2007年VOA标准英语-Former Ethiopia Leader Mengistu Handed Life Sen

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
11 January 2007

In Ethiopia, former communist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam has been sentenced to life in prison on genocide charges and other crimes committed during his brutal¹ 17-year-long rule. But as VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, it is unlikely he will ever serve a day of his sentence.

 
Mengistu Haile Mariam (file photo) 
The sentencing of Mengistu Haile Mariam marked the end of a 12-year struggle for government prosecutors² to seek the death penalty for the dictator known widely in Ethiopia as "the butcher of Addis Ababa."

The lesser³ sentence of life imprisonment⁴ surprised prosecutors and relatives of genocide victims in the courtroom, who had expected Mengistu to receive the death sentence because of the serious nature of his crimes.

But freelance journalist Les Neuhaus, who was in court in Addis Ababa, says there was little visible outrage⁵ when the sentence was handed down.

"There were a lot of people, who were not happy with the situation, but I think these folks are resigned to the fact that they are not going to see any tangible⁶ justice done," he said.

That is because the former Ethiopian dictator has been in exile in Zimbabwe since 1991, when he was overthrown⁷ by rebels led by the current Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Meles' government was able to convict Mengistu in absentia last month. But Neuhaus says it has been unable to get him back to Ethiopia to face justice.

"There have been requests for the extradition⁸ of Mengistu to Ethiopia. But that has been completely ignored by Robert Mugabe, the leader of Zimbabwe," Les Neuhaus said.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch organization criticized Mugabe's protection of Mengistu, saying it was a clear case of one dictator protecting another.

 
Former members of the Marxist regime, who were sentenced along with former leader and Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam, 11 Jan 2007
Seventy-two other people had been put on trial, but only 33 defendants⁹ were in court for sentencing.

The majority received life-in-prison and four others received sentences of up to 25 years in prison for their role in one of the bloodiest¹⁰ chapters in Ethiopian history.

Mengistu led a pro-Soviet Marxist-Leninist military junta¹¹, known as the Derg, which deposed¹² Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974.

From 1977 to early 1978, Mengistu launched a campaign, widely referred to as the Red Terror, to wipe out an anti-government rebellion. Thousands of suspected opponents were rounded up and executed without trial.

Another deadly side effect of the Red Terror was that severe famines crippling the country were kept secret from the international community.

1 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

2 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

3 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

4 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。

5 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

6 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

7 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。

8 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

9 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

10 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

11 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

12 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》