VOA常速英语2007-Niger Journalist Faces Life in Prison for Conspi

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
02 October 2007

Multiple human rights and press associations have condemned¹ the detention² of journalist Moussa Kaka in Niger.  He faces life imprisonment³ if found guilty of supporting a rebellion against the government.  Phuong Tran has more from VOA's West Africa Bureau in Dakar.

Lawyer Moussa Coulibaly says even though his client, a Nigerien radio correspondent for Radio France International and Reporter Without Borders, has been detained 12 days, the prosecution⁴ has not provided proof to back its accusation⁵ he conspired⁶ with Tuareg rebels to threaten state security.

The prosecution says it has given the court details of tapped phone conversations between Kaka and rebel leaders, who took up arms eight months ago against the government.

Kaka is also the director of the privately-owned Radio Saraouniya, which has aired interviews with rebel leaders fighting under the group name, Niger Movement for Justice.

Kaka's lawyer says the prosecution's file against Kaka is based on typical activities of a journalist, such as researching a story, and calling sources to verify information.  Coulibaly says he thinks these are acts of journalism⁷, not crime, as the government has charged.

Coulibaly says he expects the prosecution's response to his request for additional information within one month.

The state recently declared a state of emergency in the north and has restricted journalists' broadcasts and photography of the rebellion.  It also recently suspended publication of an independent paper in the northeast, Air Info, for three months and Kaka's Radio France International broadcasts for one month, saying the journalists' reporting was not objective, charges the journalists deny.

A member of the government's communications council, Mamane Mamadou, says these restrictions⁸ against the press are justified⁹ during times of conflict.

He says the country is in an exceptional period of rebellion, and must be careful.  The government spokesman says Niger has had other rebellions.  He says the rebellion can spread and turn Niger into a Rwanda or Burundi, torn apart by civil war.

Tuareg rebels in Niger last took up arms in the 1990s with similar complaints.  Fighting ended in 1995 with a peace accord that current fighters say has not been honored.  The government says it has fulfilled most of the peace deal.

Leonard Vincent with the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, one of Kaka's employers, says the government is using state security as an excuse to censor¹⁰ journalists.

"We understand it is a special situation, but it is no reason to limit the freedom to investigate on the reality of what is going on in the country," he said.  "The government says they [fighters] are bandits.  Behind this banditry, the journalists have a tendency to say the truth.  Behind this banditry, there are political demands."

The Nigerien government has refused to negotiate with the fighters until they put down their arms, dismissing them as drug traffickers.

Since last February, the rebels have launched attacks in the uranium-rich northeast causing dozens of deaths and hostage taking.

The rebels complain of government neglect and demand a larger share of uranium royalties¹¹.  Despite the country's mineral wealth, the United Nations has ranked Niger's living conditions as the worst in the world for the past two years.

Nigerien President Mamadou Tandja promised during his 2004 campaign to abolish prison penalties for press-related offenses¹².  A government commission proposed last year replacing prison sentences with fines, but the 1999 press law remains¹³ unchanged.

1 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

2 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

3 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

4 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。

5 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。

6 conspired   

密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They conspired to bring about the meeting of the two people. 他们共同促成了两人的会面。
• Bad weather and car trouble conspired to ruin our vacation. 恶劣的气候连同汽车故障断送了我们的假日。

7 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

10 censor   

n./vt.审查，审查员；删改

参考例句：

• The film has not been viewed by the censor.这部影片还未经审查人员审查。
• The play was banned by the censor.该剧本被查禁了。

11 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

12 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。