美国国家公共电台 NPR--A court in Moscow sentences WNBA star Brittney Griner to 9 years on drug charges

A court in Moscow sentences WNBA star Brittney Griner to 9 years on drug charges

Transcript¹

A Russian court found Brittney Griner guilty on drug smuggling² and possession charges. She was sentenced to more than nine years in prison. The Biden administration is working to secure her release.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Grim news in a Russian courtroom for Brittney Griner - the WNBA star was sentenced to nine years in prison for bringing less than a gram of hash oil into the country in her luggage. She pleaded guilty but said she never intended to break Russian law. The judge gave her close to the maximum sentence. Now attention is focused on a possible prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia, which could include Griner and former U.S. Marine³ Paul Whelan. Joining us now from Moscow is NPR's Charles Maynes, who was in the courtroom yesterday.

Charles, how did Griner and her legal team take the news?

CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE⁴: Yeah. You know, to set the scene a bit, you know, Griner was sitting in a cage in the courtroom looking understandably grim as she listened through an interpreter to the judge, who really raced through the verdict. It seemed like the judge was in a rush to end a trial that had gone on for over a month now. The guilty verdict itself wasn't such a surprise. Ninety-nine percent of all criminal cases in Russia end in conviction.

And Griner, of course, admitted to unintentionally breaking Russian law. Now, in doing so, she told the court she made an honest mistake. She also apologized to everyone - you know, fans, her Russian teammates, her family - for getting into this mess, saying she never meant to hurt anyone. She just wanted to play basketball with her team here in Russia, which she called her second home. But, you know, all of this has unfolded against a real breakdown⁵ in U.S.-Russian relations over the conflict in Ukraine and accusations⁶ from the U.S. that Griner was essentially⁷ a hostage. And Griner even addressed the issue in her final statement to the court.

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BRITTNEY GRINER: I know everybody keeps talking about political pawn⁹ and politics, but I hope that that is far from this courtroom.

MAYNES: And even though her lawyers - you know, they mounted this vigorous and compelling defense¹⁰, noting, for example, that most Russians would get a suspended or lesser¹¹ sentence for such a small amount of hash, for which, by the way, she had a legal prescription¹² in the U.S. to treat chronic¹³ pain. You know, despite all of this, the judge gave her a very-close-to-the-maximum sentence, nine years.

MART?NEZ: Yeah. President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have condemned¹⁴ the verdict, and they're vowing¹⁵ to bring Griner home. What have Russians been saying about this?

MAYNES: Well, first of all, Secretary of State Blinken was in Cambodia today for a regional ministerial meeting. And he repeated this idea that Griner was a political pawn.

Now, his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, was also there, and he had this take on Griner's future.

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SERGEY LAVROV: (Speaking Russian).

MAYNES: So here Lavrov is saying that President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin already have long had a channel for discussions about prisoner exchanges and that Moscow is still open to those conversations, provided they happen behind closed doors, not in public.

MART?NEZ: I know they've got 10 days to appeal. Is Griner's legal team likely to try this?

MAYNES: Well, you know, Griner's lawyers say they'll appeal, which is, of course, what you normally do when you don't agree with the court's verdict. But remember, Russia has always said that any negotiations¹⁶ would only take place once the trial was complete. Now, Griner's defense was asked about this yesterday and said basically, look, we'll do whatever is the right move here to get Brittney Griner home as fast as possible. But, of course, it's not up to them.

You know, meanwhile, we have multiple media reports that the Kremlin is looking to include a second Russian national in any deal for Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. The offer is already said to include a convicted arms dealer¹⁷, Viktor Bout⁸, who's now in a prison in Illinois. Certainly, there's intense speculation¹⁸ and public pressure on President Biden to get Griner and Whelan home. And the Kremlin is aware of all this. And that may incentivize Moscow to just sit back and see what more they can get.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Charles Maynes.

Charles, thanks.

MAYNES: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

3 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

6 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

9 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

10 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。

11 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。

12 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

13 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

14 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

15 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

16 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。

17 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

18 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。