美国国家公共电台 NPR--Blinken reiterates Griner and Whelan have been wrongfully detained in Russia

Blinken reiterates¹ Griner and Whelan have been wrongfully detained in Russia

Transcript²

Secretary of State Blinken says he plans to speak with his Russian counterpart soon. A top priority is the release of Americans held by Russia: Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Secretary of State Antony Blinken hasn't spoken with his Russian counterpart since the war began in Ukraine, but that's about to change.

(SOUNDBITE OF NEWS CONFERENCE)

ANTONY BLINKEN: I plan to raise an issue that's a top priority for us - the release of Americans Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, who've been wrongfully detained and must be allowed to come home.

ASMA KHALID, HOST:

Griner is a U.S. Olympian and WNBA star on trial on drug charges in Russia. Whelan is a former Marine⁴ convicted in a secret trial on espionage⁵ charges.

FADEL: NPR's Michele Kelemen joins us now to talk about Blinken's efforts to get them home.

Good morning, Michele.

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE⁶: Good morning.

FADEL: So, Michele, what did Blinken say about this yesterday?

KELEMEN: Well, he said that he put what he called a substantial deal on the table weeks ago and that he plans to raise this directly with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, but he wouldn't really go beyond that. You know, for instance, he would not confirm nor did he deny reports that the U.S. is ready to do a prisoner swap⁷ and release Viktor Bout³. He's this arms dealer⁸ dubbed⁹ the Merchant of Death who was caught in a sting operation in 2008 in Thailand. And he's currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S. The Russians have long sought his release. The Biden administration did do a prisoner swap earlier this year. So this wouldn't be the first, but it would be a fairly dramatic one.

FADEL: So they're not confirming that there. Now, Griner was in court yesterday in Russia. She testified. What did she say?

KELEMEN: Yeah. You know, she's pleaded guilty. She was caught at the airport in February with vape cartridges¹⁰ containing hashish oil. Griner explained to the court that this was medically prescribed marijuana for pain relief, that she did not mean to bring it to Russia, where it's illegal. She packed in a hurry on her way to Yekaterinburg, where she plays for a Russian team during the WNBA's off season. Her lawyers say they're not taking part in discussions about any prisoner swap and that such a deal would only be possible after the court reaches a verdict. Blinken is clearly hoping to move this process along by talking to Lavrov in the coming days. The Biden administration is facing a lot of public pressure to get Brittney Griner home. Biden's spoken to Griner's wife about the case. And Paul Whelan's family has also been pushing hard for his release since he's been held longer for several years now and was left behind in a recent prisoner swap that freed another former U.S. Marine, Trevor Reed.

FADEL: Now, if there is a prisoner swap, what precedent¹¹ does it set for Americans in Russia?

KELEMEN: Well, it is a dangerous precedent there and everywhere, by the way. Secretary Blinken was clearly sounding worried about that. Take a listen to what he had to say at his news conference yesterday.

(SOUNDBITE OF NEWS CONFERENCE)

BLINKEN: We, of course, want to see those who are wrongfully detained be released and be able to return home. At the same time, it's important that we work to reinforce the global norm against these arbitrary detentions¹², against what is truly a horrific practice.

KELEMEN: You know, the U.S. has been trying to get prisoners out of Iran, Venezuela and many other places, and the secretary says he wants to make sure that countries don't have an incentive¹³ to arrest Americans and hold them as hostages. But the U.S. has done prisoner swaps¹⁴. The Obama and Trump¹⁵ administrations did them with Iran. Iran continues to hold Americans. So the question for the Biden administration is whether they can find a way to impose costs on countries that do this habitually¹⁶ rather than just continue to negotiate prisoner swap deals.

FADEL: NPR's Michele Kelemen, thank you so much.

KELEMEN: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 reiterates   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The Chinese government reiterates that the question of Taiwan is China's internal affair. 中国政府重申，台湾问题是中国的内政。 来自汉英非文学 - 汉英文件
• Wang Jianzhou reiterates a fact and a viewpoint in Davos. 王建宙在达沃斯重申一个事实和一个观点。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

6 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。

7 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

8 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。

9 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 cartridges   

子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头

参考例句：

• computer consumables such as disks and printer cartridges 如磁盘、打印机墨盒之类的电脑耗材
• My new video game player came with three game cartridges included. 我的新电子游戏机附有三盘游戏带。

11 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

12 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。

13 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。

14 swaps   

交换( swap的名词复数 )； 交换物，被掉换者

参考例句：

• He swaps his old car for a new motorcycle. 他用旧车换了一辆新摩托车。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• Swaps the anchor and end points of the current selection. 交换当前所选内容的定位点和结束点。

15 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

16 habitually   

ad.习惯地，通常地

参考例句：

• The pain of the disease caused him habitually to furrow his brow. 病痛使他习惯性地紧皱眉头。
• Habitually obedient to John, I came up to his chair. 我已经习惯于服从约翰，我来到他的椅子跟前。