VOA常速英语2020--美国对车臣领导人实施签证限制

Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the United States governmnet.“There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice,” wrote the great French political philosopher Montesquieu. There is no better way to describe the repressive regime of Ramzan Kadyrov, the authoritarian¹ leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic.For this reason, the United States has imposed new visa restrictions² on Kadyrov and his family, for gross violations³ of the human rights of the people of Chechnya. The consequence is that Kadyrov, his wife, and two adult daughters are now barred from entering the United States.In his designation announcement, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. has “extensive credible⁴ information that Kadyrov is responsible for numerous gross violations of human rights dating back more than a decade, including torture and extrajudicial killings⁶.”These include credible reports of the mass detention⁷ and torture of LGBTI persons.In 2018, an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe investigation⁸ into Chechen human rights abuses revealed that “harassment and persecution⁹, arbitrary or unlawful arrests or detentions¹⁰, torture, enforced disappearance¹¹, and extrajudicial executions” had taken place in a “climate of impunity¹².”

接下来是一篇反映美国政府观点的社论。伟大的法国政治哲学家孟德斯鸠写道：“没有比在法律的借口下和装出公正的姿态时所做出的事情更加残酷的暴政的了。”用这句名言来描述俄罗斯车臣共和国独裁领导人拉姆赞·卡德罗夫的专制政权是再好不过的了。为此，美国对卡德罗夫及其家人实施了新的签证限制，因其严重损害了车臣人民的人权。结果，卡德罗夫与他的妻子和两个成年女儿现在被禁止入境美国。在这份制裁声明中，美国国务卿迈克·蓬佩奥表示，美国“已经掌握了大量可靠的信息，表明卡德罗夫应该为十多年前的酷刑和法外处决等许多严重侵犯人权的行为负责，其中包括对LGBTI人员的大规模拘留和酷刑的可靠报道。2018年，欧洲安全与合作组织对车臣侵犯人权行为的调查显示，“骚扰和迫害、任意或非法逮捕或拘留、酷刑、强迫失踪和法外处决”都是在“豁免”下发生的。

Critics of Kadyrov have paid a high price over the years for reporting on abuses in Chechnya. In 2017, several Chechens with ties to Kadyrov’s security services were found guilty of killing⁵ Russian opposition¹³ leader Boris Nemtsov. In 2009 Natalya Estemirova, who worked for the human rights group Memorial, was abducted¹⁴ from her home in Chechnya and murdered. In recent years, numerous critics of Kadyrov living in exile in Europe have also been killed.More recently, Mr. Kadyrov, like many other authoritarian leaders, is using the excuse of the coronavirus pandemic to inflict¹⁵ further abuses on the Chechen people. Indeed, according to press reports, Kadyrov has threatened journalists who have reported on his government’s efforts to scare people away from getting tested for COVID-19, calling those reporters “enemies of the state.”These additional measures by the U.S. government send a message to Mr. Kadyrov that his gross violations of human rights have consequences for him and his family. The United States will use all means at its disposal to promote accountability for all those who engage in such abhorrent¹⁶ behavior.The United States calls on the Russian government to end impunity for human rights violations in Chechnya and ensure that everyone in Russia, including in Chechnya, is able to exercise their fundamental freedoms without fear of retribution.That was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States governmnet.

多年来，卡德罗夫的批评者们因为报道车臣的侵犯人权行为而付出了高昂的代价。2017年，几名与卡德罗夫安全部门有关联的车臣人被判杀害俄罗斯反对派领导人鲍里斯·涅姆佐夫罪名成立。2009年，为人权组织纪念馆工作的娜塔莉娅·埃斯特米洛娃在车臣的家中被绑架并被谋杀。近年来，许多流亡欧洲的卡德罗夫的批评人士也惨遭杀害。最近，和其他许多独裁领导人一样，卡德罗夫正在利用冠状病毒疫情为借口，进一步虐待车臣人民。事实上，根据新闻报道，卡德罗夫曾威胁过一些记者，这些记者曾经报道过车臣政府试图恐吓车臣人民，不让他们接受新冠肺炎检测，卡德罗夫称这些记者为“国家的敌人”美国政府采取的这些额外措施向卡德罗夫发出了一个信息，即他严重侵犯人权的行为会给他和他的家人造成影响。美国将动用一切手段，促进对所有从事这种可恶行为的人追究责任。美国呼吁俄罗斯政府停止在车臣侵犯人权行为而不受惩罚的现象，确保包括车臣在内的俄罗斯所有人都能在不担心报复的情况下行使其基本自由。这是一篇反映美国政府观点的社论。

1 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 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。

4 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

5 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。

6 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

7 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。

8 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。

9 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

10 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。

11 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

12 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

13 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。

14 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

15 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

16 abhorrent   

adj.可恶的，可恨的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• He is so abhorrent,saying such bullshit to confuse people.他这样乱说，妖言惑众，真是太可恶了。
• The idea of killing animals for food is abhorrent to many people.许多人想到杀生取食就感到憎恶。