VOA标准英语2009-Iranian Nobel Laureate Ebadi Criticizes Huma

By Margaret Besheer
United Nations
12 November 2009

 
Shirin Ebadi (file photo)
Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi urged the international community Wednesday to throw its support behind a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning¹ the lack of human rights in her native Iran. Ebadi said she has invited the U.N. Secretary-General to visit Iran and see for himself the deteriorating² state of freedoms there.

Shirin Ebadi outlined numerous human rights abuses happening in her country, including the execution of minors³, discrimination against religious minorities and women, and the lack of free speech.

She warned that the situation has deteriorated⁴ significantly since the disputed presidential election last June that ultimately returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to office, but triggered a wave of political protests. Ebadi, heard here through a translator, says those arrested after the vote have been deprived of their legal rights. "Pursuant to the statement of the government itself, 3,000 people have been detained after the elections. Although I believe that the number is higher than that. Some of them have been placed on bail⁵ and have been released. But unfortunately, both in Tehran and in other cities, there are a number of people in prison," she said.

She added that some have died in prison after being tortured, such as Mohsen Ruholamini, the son of a senior commander in the Revolutionary Guards, and others, both men and women, have accused their captors of raping⁶ them in jail.

Ebadi, a human rights lawyer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, told a New York audience that she has been living in effective exile since the June elections. She said the government has closed down her office and confiscated⁷ her apartment, as well as her bank account, in addition to harassing⁸ members of her family. "When the government of Iran treats a person like me who has won the Nobel Peace Prize in a manner like I've told you, how would they behave when it comes to a student? When it comes to an ordinary person?," she said.

She said she appealed to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a meeting on Monday to come to Iran and see for himself the situation.

His office said he would like to go there but has no immediate⁹ plans to do so. In a recent report, Mr. Ban said he was "deeply troubled" by the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran.

Next week, the U.N. General Assembly will vote on a non-binding resolution criticizing Iran's serious and continuing human rights violations¹⁰ and calling on the Islamic Republic to improve its record.

The assembly has passed such a resolution every year since 1985. But despite its apparent lack of effect, human rights groups and activist¹¹ Shirin Ebadi say it is important the international community continue to send Iran the message that such practices are unacceptable.

1 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

3 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

5 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

6 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

7 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

8 harassing   

v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人）

参考例句：

• The court ordered him to stop harassing his ex-wife. 法庭命令他不得再骚扰前妻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was too close to be merely harassing fire. 打得这么近，不能完全是扰乱射击。 来自辞典例句

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。