VOA慢速英语--Germany Says Vietnam Kidnapped Ex-Oil Official in Berlin

Germany Says Vietnam Kidnapped Ex-Oil Official in Berlin

Germany says Vietnamese agents kidnapped a former oil official in Berlin and returned him to Vietnam to face corruption¹ charges.

German officials accused Vietnamese intelligence services of carrying out the kidnapping of Trinh Xuan Thanh on July 23.

Thanh, 51, disappeared from Vietnam in July 2016 after being accused of mismanagement and corruption. Vietnamese officials blame him for causing losses of about $150 million at national oil and gas company PetroVietnam.

A German foreign ministry² spokesman said the kidnapping of a Vietnamese citizen on German soil was a violation³ of German and international law. The spokesman added that the incident could harm relations between the two countries “in a massive way.”

Germany responded by ordering a Vietnamese intelligence officer to leave the country. The foreign ministry said Germany was still considering other possible actions against Vietnam “at a political, economic and development policy level." German officials said Thanh had sought asylum⁴ in Germany, but his application had not been processed. The officials said Vietnam had also sought his extradition⁵.

Vietnamese officials said Thanh had turned himself in to police in Vietnam on Monday.

Vietnam's ambassador was contacted by German officials in Berlin. They demanded that Thanh be returned to Germany so the asylum and extradition requests could be correctly handled.

After serving as head of PetroVietnam, Thanh was appointed to several senior government positions. He was elected to Vietnam’s National Assembly in May 2016, but was dismissed a short time later after being accused of corruption.

Vietnamese officials issued an arrest warrant for him in September 2016.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

massive – adj. very large

extradition – n. the sending of a person back to a country where they are accused of a crime

warrant – n. document issued by a court giving police the power to do something, such as carry out an arrest

1 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。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

4 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

5 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。