VOA常速英语2020--美国对车臣领导人实施签证限制（在线收听）

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 authoritarian leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic.For this reason, the United States has imposed new visa restrictions on Kadyrov and his family, for gross violations 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 credible information that Kadyrov is responsible for numerous gross violations of human rights dating back more than a decade, including torture and extrajudicial killings.”These include credible reports of the mass detention and torture of LGBTI persons.In 2018, an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe investigation into Chechen human rights abuses revealed that “harassment and persecution, arbitrary or unlawful arrests or detentions, torture, enforced disappearance, and extrajudicial executions” had taken place in a “climate of impunity.”

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 killing Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. In 2009 Natalya Estemirova, who worked for the human rights group Memorial, was abducted 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 inflict 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 abhorrent 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。