VOA标准英语2011--European Court Bars Deportation of Two S

European Court Bars Deportation² of Two Somalis from Britain

The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Britain not to deport¹ two Somalis who have been convicted of serious crimes, saying they could face torture or other "inhuman³" treatment if they are forced to return to their home country. The ruling reflects a long-held legal principle, and also some tensions inherent in today's mix of failed states and relatively⁴ free movement of people.
The court's ruling says Britain would be in violation⁵ of the European Convention on Human Rights if it sent the two men back to Somalia.
The men, Abdisamad Adow Sufi and Abdiaziz Ibrahim Elmi, have been convicted of burglary, drug dealing⁶ and threatening to kill people. British authorities sought to deport them. But the Strasbourg-based court said while their actions were "undesirable," they would be at risk of mistreatment in Somalia and therefore they cannot be forced to go there. It ordered the British government to pay the men's legal fees, totaling more than $30,000.
The court analyzed⁷ each man's personal and family situation before making its decision, suggesting it might approve the forced return of some people if they had the means to keep themselves safe. British media say the ruling could affect more than 200 other Somali convicts held in the country.
The director of the European Institute at University College London, Professor Richard Bellamy, says when there is a risk of mistreatment, the cost to the British government of holding the men and the danger they might pose if they are released from prison someday are not relevant.
"It's not a question of balancing," said Bellamy. "Their view is simply that you cannot risk putting an individual in a circumstance where they might be tortured or murdered. Britain has an obligation to sentence them and for them to serve their sentence and to rehabilitate⁸ them."
Bellamy says under the European Convention on Human Rights, a person's protection from torture is absolute. Bellamy says the Convention is designed, in part, to provide incentive⁹ to European countries to take action to help improve the human rights situation in other parts of the world so that foreign criminals can be sent home.
At London's King's College, international law and human rights expert Professor Satvinder Juss agrees.
"The number of failed and failing states are on the increase," noted¹⁰ Juss. "And when you've got a situation where countries are in deep strife¹¹ and civil war situations and lawlessness, unless those situations are addressed at a global level, we will end up importing some of the problems from there."
Professor Juss says the European Convention on Human Rights forces the continent's countries to accept some risk in return for upholding their principles.
"This does expose free countries, countries that are governed by the rule of law, to dangers on their own territory," added Juss. "We are held up, as law-respecting societies, to a higher standard. I would, personally, not have it any other way. But I think that is a risk. Many of our law-abiding citizens are thereby¹² placed at risk."
The professors say once the two Somali men complete their sentences in Britain, they will probably have to be set free. They say the courts will not allow law enforcement authorities to hold the men beyond the length of their criminal sentences, even if they are in the country illegally and even if they pose a risk of future criminal behavior.

1 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

2 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

3 inhuman   

adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的

参考例句：

• We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
• It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

9 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

12 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。