2006年VOA标准英语-Charles Taylor to Face War Crimes Charges

By Franz Wild
Abidjan
29 March 2006

Witnesses say captured former Liberian leader Charles Taylor has been taken to Sierra Leone in a U.N. helicopter. He is being transferred to a U.N.-backed court in Sierra Leone where he faces charges of crimes against humanity.

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Charles Taylor (2003 file photo) 
  

Taken to Liberia on a Nigerian government jet, Charles Taylor was arrested by the U.N. Mission in Liberia.

Hundreds of U.N. peacekeepers who waited in the rain took part in the operation.

Immediately after Taylor set foot on Liberian soil, Liberian government and U.N. security officials surrounded him and led him to the waiting helicopter in handcuffs.

Journalists who had come to witness his transfer were not let near the plane. They reported that Liberian police swung batons¹ at them to keep them from the airstrip.

The U.N. Mission in Liberia had the authority to take Taylor into custody² as soon as he entered the country.

"There is actually a Security Council resolution, resolution 1638, which gives UNMIL the capacity to apprehend³ and detain Charles Taylor and to facilitate his transfer to the Special Court," said Harpinder Adhwal, special assistant to the prosecutor⁴ at the Special Court. "There is a Chapter Seven resolution that allows UNMIL to facilitate his transfer to the Special Court in Sierra Leone."

She also told VOA she believes prosecutors⁵ have a strong case against Taylor and are delighted that they are now able to try him.

Heavy security was also present at the helicopter landing pad in Sierra Leone.

Compound of house where former Liberian leader Charles Taylor lived near seaside town of Calaber  
  
Taylor was indicted⁶ in 2003 and faces 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including training and using child soldiers, in the 10-year civil war in Sierra Leone. He has also been accused of spreading instability throughout West Africa and trading resources for weapons during his time in power in Liberia. Taylor has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. 

Earlier, Nigerian police captured Taylor near the border with Cameroon after he left his villa⁷ in southeast Nigeria, where he had been in exile since 2003.

1 batons   

n.（警察武器）警棍( baton的名词复数 )；（乐队指挥用的）指挥棒；接力棒

参考例句：

• There were many riot policemen with batons. 有许多带警棍的防暴警察。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Chinese police fight? Number one is a person with batons to fight! 满街飘的中国国旗，是一个老华侨在事发时那出来分给大家的，很感动，真的，从来一向多一事不如少一事的中国人今天团结到一起站出来反抗。 来自互联网

2 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

3 apprehend   

vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑

参考例句：

• I apprehend no worsening of the situation.我不担心局势会恶化。
• Police have not apprehended her killer.警察还未抓获谋杀她的凶手。

4 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。

5 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。

6 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

7 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。