VOA慢速英语2014 Turkey May Change Property Seizure Law

AS IT IS 2014-11-08 Turkey May Change Property Seizure¹ Law

Turkish lawmakers are expected to approve legislation soon that would affect property rights. The measure would permit police to seize property from people accused of plotting against the government. Investors³ in Turkey and around the world are worried about the proposed law.

The homeland security reform bill will give police new powers to search and arrest people. It would also limit the rights of people accused of a crime. It would reduce the information police must provide suspects and their lawyers about the legal process being used against them. And it would let the government seize the property from people found guilty of threatening Turkey’s constitution or trying to overthrow⁴ the government.

Atilla Yesilada is a political expert in Turkey. He says Turkish and foreign investors are worried about the possible effects of the legislation. He says they are worried about the government having the power to seize property and money before an individual or company is found guilty. 

“The burden of proof has almost shifted from the prosecutor⁵ to the defendant⁶, simply because it takes just reasonable suspicion for the court to confiscate⁷ assets, for maybe years.”

Bulent Arinc is the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey. He says the legislation is designed to give police more power in their fight to defend the country.  

Emma Sinclair Webb is a top researcher on Turkey for Human Rights Watch. She says she is worried about the possibility the government will abuse the power the legislation gives it by making charges that cannot be proven -- just so it can seize property.

“Now, of course, coup⁸ plotting is a very serious charge but in Turkey it’s a rather widely-used charge. We have seen it used against a group of football supporters for participating in protests. So I think increasing the power to seize assets is part of the government wanting to arm itself to crack down more on opponents.”

In 2009, a newspaper belonging to Turkey’s largest media company reported on possible government corruption⁹. The government soon required the company to pay billions of dollars in tax fines.

And, this year, investigators¹⁰ repeatedly targeted a bank after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused its owners of acting¹¹ against the ruling AK Party. The bank’s owners said the accusation¹² was not true.

Some government officials say they also are worried about the legislation. Volkan Bozkir is Turkey’s minister for European Union membership. He has warned that the measure could hurt the country’s efforts to join the EU. He said he will work to make sure any new laws meet EU requirements.  

The country’s attempt to join the EU has been temporarily stopped. Experts say EU officials do not want the process to begin again because they believe Turkey is moving farther away from democracy.  

Atilla Yesilada says even before the new legislation was written, investors were worried about the lack of progress on democratic reforms and the threat of the Islamic State on Turkey’s border.

“There are a lot of unconnected stories that are hitting the news wires which are sort of touching¹³ the nerve endings of investors. They haven't reached a point where there is a coherent negative Turkish narrative¹⁴, as it’s coalesced¹⁵ in Putin’s Russia years ago or has happened in Venezuela. But I think there is concern. They are watching. And if there are any applications of these laws to companies, I am afraid the investor² sentiment may change very rapidly.”

Some members of Turkey’s government do not support the legislation. But parliament is expected to approve the measure, and President Erdogan to sign it into law, this month.

Observers note that government supporters won elections last month to the Supreme¹⁶ Board of Judges and Prosecutors¹⁷. It controls the country’s legal system. As a result, observers say, there will be few limits on how the government uses the powers the new law gives it.

Words in This Story

seize – v. to use legal or official power to take (something)

overthrow – v. to remove (someone or something) from power especially by force

prosecutor – n. a lawyer who represents the side in a court case that accuses a person of a crime and who tries to prove that the person is guilty

coup (d’etat) – n. a sudden attempt by a small group of people to take over the government, usually through violence

corruption – n. dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government officials or police officers)

1 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

2 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

5 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

6 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

7 confiscate   

v.没收(私人财产)，把…充公

参考例句：

• The police have the right to confiscate any forbidden objects they find.如发现违禁货物，警方有权查扣。
• Did the teacher confiscate your toy?老师没收你的玩具了吗？

8 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

12 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

13 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

14 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

15 coalesced   

v.联合，合并( coalesce的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The puddles had coalesced into a small stream. 地面上水洼子里的水汇流成了一条小溪。
• The views of party leaders coalesced to form a coherent policy. 党的领导人的各种观点已统一为一致的政策。 来自辞典例句

16 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

17 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。