VOA慢速英语--纳瓦尔尼不服俄罗斯法院驳回上诉

A Russian court on Thursday rejected opposition¹ leader Alexei Navalny's appeal of his arrest. At the same time, Russian officials detained several of his allies and warned social media companies against posting in support of protests.

Last weekend, tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated in across Russia to demand Navalny's release.

The jailed leader appeared in court by video link. He said the government arrested and charged him in an effort to stop the opposition movement.

"You won't succeed in scaring tens of millions of people who have been robbed by that government," he said. "Yes, you have the power now to put me in handcuffs, but it's not going to last forever."

The 44-year-old is the most famous Russian critic of President Vladimir Putin's government. He was arrested on January 17 after returning from Germany. Navalny had been in that country for five months recovering from a poisoning that almost killed him.

Navalny is charged with violating a legal agreement connected to the suspension of his prison sentence.

He had been found guilty in 2014 of financial wrongdoing. He denied the crime and argued the charges were made for political reasons. He is also facing accusations² in two other criminal investigations⁴.

His defense⁵ lawyers told the appeals court that Navalny could not meet the probation⁶ requirement when he was under medical treatment in Germany. His lawyers also argued that Navalny's legal rights were violated repeatedly during his arrest.

Navalny described his jailing as a mockery of justice.

"It was demonstrative lawlessness" meant to scare him and all others, he told the Moscow court.

Navalny's supporters are organizing another round of protests for Sunday. Police on Wednesday searched the temporary home of Navalny and his wife, Yulia. Police also searched the homes of several of his supporters and made arrests.

Police detained his brother, Oleg Navalny, and Navalny's top ally, Lyubov Sobol. Anastasia Vasilyeva from the Navalny-backed Alliance of Doctors and Maria Alyokhina from the Pussy⁷ Riot music and performance group were also arrested. They were held for 48 hours.

A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said the searches and detentions⁸ were part of police efforts to investigate public health law violations⁹ at the protests.

"Law enforcement agencies are doing their job," he said in a telephone call with reporters.

Police in Moscow issued a notice Thursday warning the public against attending demonstrations¹⁰ planned for Sunday. They said officers would take strong action to end the gatherings¹¹ and arrest protesters.

Also Thursday, Russian court officials sent a warning to Facebook, Google, Twitter, TikTok and Russian social media, demanding that they block anyone calling for more protests.

Earlier this week, Russia's media and communications governing agency Roskomnadzor said it would fine Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and two Russian companies. The agency said the media sites failed to block calls for those under 18 to join Saturday's protests.

Facebook, Google and TikTok have not commented about the Russian officials' action. Twitter refused to comment to The Associated Press on Thursday.

Also Thursday, Russia's Investigative Committee said it opened a criminal investigation³ against Navalny's top ally, Leonid Volkov.

It accused him of pushing for children to attend protests. Volkov, who now lives outside of Russia, rejected the charges.

"The streets must speak now. There is nothing else left," Volkov wrote on Twitter after Navalny's appeal was rejected.

Demonstrations calling for Navalny's release took place in more than 100 Russian cities last Saturday. Almost 4,000 people were reported arrested. Some protesters were ordered to pay fines and serve jail terms.

Words In This Story

scare – v. to cause (someone) to become afraid

handcuffs – n. two metal rings joined together and put around a person's wrists to hold him

due process – n. the official and proper way of doing things in a legal case : the rule that a legal case must be done in a way that protects the rights of all the people involved

mockery – n. behavior or speech that makes fun of someone or something in a hurtful way

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

7 pussy   

n.(儿语)小猫，猫咪

参考例句：

• Why can't they leave my pussy alone?为什么他们就不能离我小猫咪远一点？
• The baby was playing with his pussy.孩子正和他的猫嬉戏。

8 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

9 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

10 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

11 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。