VOA标准英语2011--Kenyans to Sue Britain Over Torture Clai

Kenyans to Sue Britain Over Torture Claim

Four Kenyans, three men and one woman, plan to take legal action against the British government over alleged¹ colonial-era atrocities². Britain's High Court ruled Thursday that the elderly Kenyans can sue over alleged torture by British authorities committed during the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s.
It was a victory on Thursday for four Kenyans who won the right to sue the British government, but the ruling is only the beginning.
A judge ruled that the Kenyans have an "arguable case" and that a full trial will be needed to find out the facts.
But the judge emphasized that his ruling did not mean there had been systematic³ torture or that the British government is liable.
Paolo Nzili, 83, is one of the claimants. Nzili says he was castrated, humiliated⁴, beaten, and now has no family of his own. He says he's bitter, but happy that the High Court has accepted the case so that the four can sue for compensation.
Money is what he needs, he says, to compensate⁵ for the fact that he's never had a family - something he says has tormented⁶ him all his life.
The four elderly Kenyans say they were systematically⁷ tortured in camps set up in the 1950s to crush the Mau Mau rebellion against British rule.
The British Foreign Office says it is not responsible. It says responsibility for abuse was transferred to Kenya at independence in 1963.
"We are absolutely delighted and we are happy that the verdict came out the way it came, because for us that's a real opportunity, a real opportunity for these men and women who suffered despicable acts of torture, to be heard, and we are calling upon the British government to really move with speed now and stop invoking⁸ other technicalities like limitations, and really settle this case," said George Morara, the Program Officer at the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
The four claimants are in their 70s and 80s. Another claimant died in 2009.

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

4 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

5 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

6 tormented   

饱受折磨的

参考例句：

• The knowledge of his guilt tormented him. 知道了自己的罪责使他非常痛苦。
• He had lain awake all night, tormented by jealousy. 他彻夜未眠，深受嫉妒的折磨。

7 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

8 invoking   

v.援引( invoke的现在分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• You can customise the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集，您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为，通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• You can customize the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集，您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为，通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自辞典例句