2007年VOA标准英语-Panama's Noriega Challenges France Extradition

By Brian Wagner
Miami
23 July 2007

Lawyers for former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega have asked a U.S. judge to block his possible extradition¹ to France to face money-laundering² charges. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports that Noreiga is seeking to return to Panama when he is paroled from a U.S. prison in September.

Manuel Noriega in undated photo

The legal troubles of Panama's former military leader Manuel Noriega are likely to continue when he is released from a U.S. prison on September 9, after serving 17 years of a drug sentence. The governments in both France and Panama are seeking the custody³ of Noriega to answer for crimes he allegedly committed while he was in power.

Noriega was convicted in 1992 in the United States for protecting Colombian drug cartels shipping⁵ drugs to the United States, and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was convicted in France in 1999 for laundering millions of dollars in alleged⁴ drug money. He faces a 10-year jail term there.

In Panama, Noriega is accused of taking part in the killings⁶ of at least two political opponents.

Noriega's attorneys filed motions in a Miami court Monday asking that he be returned to Panama to fight the charges against him.

Attorney John May says U.S. courts for years have classified Noriega as a prisoner of war under the Geneva Conventions, because he surrendered during a U.S. military invasion launched in 1989.

"The French request would contravene⁷ the terms of the Geneva Conventions which require that General Noriega be repatriated⁸ to Panama," he said.

U.S. attorneys representing the French government filed the extradition request in Miami. Last week, a U.S. State Department spokesman said the decision will belong to a Miami judge whether to order Noriega's extradition to France or to Panama. The judge is expected to hold an initial hearing on Thursday.

Guy Lewis, a former U.S. attorney who helped prosecute⁹ Noriega, says he feels the French request will prevail because it has satisfied U.S. legal requirements.

"He was tried [in France], he was convicted, and now it is time to pay the piper. I think he will have to go to France, serve his sentence, and eventually I think he will make his way back to Panama," he said.

Noriega's attorneys say they believe that officials want to send the former leader to France, in an effort to spare Panama's President Martin Torrijos from any political embarrassment¹⁰. Panama's government says it has filed several extradition requests in Washington, and says it wants to hold Noriega responsible for alleged crimes during his years in power.

Former prosecutor¹¹ Lewis says officials at the time of Noriega's 1992 conviction made no provisions for possible future cases against him. He added he is not surprised by the current battle over custody of the former military leader.

"This of course was the first time that a foreign leader had been indicted¹², arrested, brought to the United States, prosecuted¹³ and convicted. For better or worse, this is the kind of case that seems to make [legal precedent] on a regular basis," he said.

Lewis says the Noriega case has been a key test of the U.S. justice system over the years, and he says he expects it will continue to do so in coming weeks.

1 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。

2 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

6 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

7 contravene   

v.违反，违背，反驳，反对

参考例句：

• The moves contravene the peace plan agreed by both sides.这些举措违反了双方同意的和平方案。
• He said the article did not contravene the industry's code of conduct.他说这一条款并未违反行业的行为准则。

8 repatriated   

v.把（某人）遣送回国，遣返( repatriate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The refugees were forcibly repatriated. 难民被强制遣送回国。
• Ancient artworks were repatriated from the US to Greece. 古代艺术品从美国遣送回希腊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

10 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

11 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。

12 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。

13 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。