VOA慢速英语2014 菲律宾大屠杀案仍在审判中

 

AS IT IS 2014-12-03 Trial Continues in Five-Year-Old Philippine Mass Murder Case

November 23 marked the fifth anniversary of the killing¹ of 58 people in the southern Philippines. Most were media workers. Philippine courts have yet to sentence anyone for the 2009 attacks. Many suspects remain free.

Philippine and foreign journalists recently remembered the mass murder with another appeal for justice.

Mike Dobbie is with the International Federation² of Journalists. He has made trips to the southern Philippines for the past five years. He calls the Philippine justice system “broken” because of the high number of suspects who remain free.

“There seem to be no substantial reasons for why these 84 suspects have not been rounded up and detained. We know the justice system is broken because at least four witnesses have been killed before they can give their evidence in this trial.”

One hundred eleven people have been charged in connection with the murders. Two of the suspects turned state witness. That means they agreed to provide evidence to the prosecution³.

The main suspects belong to a powerful political family. Andal Ampatuan and his sons Andal Junior and Zaldy have each told the court they are not guilty of carrying out the attack. The wife and sisters of Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu died in the violence. So did some of his supporters and 32 journalists.

The family of Governor Mangudadatu was on its way to register for his candidacy papers at the time of the attack. His lawyers, supporters and reporters were also with the group. Witnesses say more than 100 people blocked the group, and began shooting at them. Andal Junior was said to be leading the attack.

Moving the case forward

The trial in this case began in early 2010. Lawyers from both sides have been pushing to speed up the case.

Harry⁴ Roque, a lawyer working for the government, says he is “happy” there is a process that will move things up a little. He says the Supreme⁵ Court has permitted the presentation of evidence against some of the accused to finish before evidence against all of the suspects is in.

“In that way we can have partial promulgation⁶ of judgment⁷ against specific accused and it is our aim to finish the evidence and to have promulgation of judgment against members of the Ampatuan family and against the shooters on or before 2016.”

Lawyers for Zaldy Ampatuan are currently presenting evidence to seek bail⁸. That is money a defendant⁹ can pay for his release from jail while the court considers the case. Andal Junior’s lawyers plan to seek bail next month.

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima met with members of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and the International Federation of Journalists last month. Jane Worthington is the federation’s acting¹⁰ director for Asia and the Pacific. She says the delegates learned that the government is making changes to prosecutions¹¹ against people suspected of murdering journalists.

However, she says, her organization will list the Philippines as “one of the worst (countries) in the world, in terms of its impunity¹² situation.”

Words in This Story

journalist – n. a person whose job is to collect, write, and edit stories for the media

substantial – adj. large in amount, size, or number

prosecution – n. the act or process of holding a trial against a person who is accused of a crime to see if that person is guilty

promulgation – v. the act of making (an idea, belief, etc.) known to many people

impunity – n. freedom from punishment, harm, or loss 

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

3 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

4 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

5 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。

6 promulgation   

n.颁布

参考例句：

• The new law comes into force from the day of its promulgation. 新法律自公布之日起生效。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Article 118 These Regulations shall come into effect from the day of their promulgation. 第一百一十八条本条例自公布之日起实施。 来自经济法规部分

7 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

8 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

9 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。

10 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。

11 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

12 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。