VOA常速英语2019--美国谴责伊朗政府迫害宗教自由

In his address at the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in July, Vice¹ President Mike Pence described the Iranian regime as one of world’s worst violators of religious liberty:

The Iranian people enjoy few, if any freedoms – least of all the freedom of religion. Christians³, Jews, Sunnis, Baha’is and other religious minorities are denied the most basic rights enjoyed by the Shia majority.

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Vice Chair Gayle Manchin has chosen an Iranian prisoner of conscience for a project the Commission instituted to bring attention to the plight⁴ of individuals persecuted⁵ solely⁶ for what they believe, and to pressure the government to respect their religious liberty.

That prisoner is Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, an Iranian author and women’s rights defender⁷ who is serving a six-year prison sentence for the so-called crimes of spreading propaganda and insulting Islamic sanctities, after authorities discovered an unpublished story she wrote critical of stoning.

She was put on trial twice. Neither time was she allowed to speak for herself, nor were her lawyers allowed to represent her… This is a woman that has been taken away from her family merely for bringing out the cruelty of stoning women for adultery in a country.

Commission Vice Chair Nadine Maenza is also highlighting an Iranian prisoner of conscience: Youcef Nadarkhani, a pastor⁸ and Christian² convert, who spent years in prison and at one point was sentenced to death for apostasy⁹, though he was later acquitted¹⁰. But in July 2018 Pastor Nadarkhani was detained again to serve a 10-year prison sentence for acting¹¹ against national security by promoting Zionist Christianity and running house churches, as Ms. Maenza recounted:

The Iranian police tried to knock his door down in the middle of the night. His son opened the door. They lazered him with an electric taser to the ground and then beat Pastor Nadarkhani before arresting him and taking him to prison. He’s now serving a 10 year sentence in Evin prison in Tehran which is one of the worst prison in the world.

At the Ministerial, Vice President Pence emphasized that the United States will continue to call out the persecution¹² of religious minorities in Iran. And he had a message for the long-suffering Iranian people: Even as we stand strong against the leaders in Tehran, know that we are with you… And we urge you to press on with courage in the cause of freedom.

在促进宗教自由部长级会议上发表讲话时，副总统彭斯称伊朗政权是世界上破坏宗教自由最严重的政权之一：

如果要说伊朗人民有享受到什么自由的话，那也很少——其中最少的当属宗教自由。基督教、犹太教、逊尼派、巴哈伊等宗教少数群体无法获得什叶派多数群体所享受的最基本的宗教自由。

美国国际宗教自由委员会副主席盖尔选择了一位伊朗有良知的囚犯参加该委员会发起的一个项目，该项目旨在让人们注意到单纯因为个人信仰而受到迫害的一些人的苦楚，同时也是为了向伊朗政府施压，让其尊重宗教自由。

这位囚犯名为易卜拉希米，她是一名伊朗作家，也是女权的捍卫者，他服刑6年，原因是他犯下了所谓的宗教传播罪，冒犯了伊斯兰的圣洁，因为伊朗当局发现她写了一个批判石刑的文章，虽然该文章并未发表。

这名作家曾两次受审。这两次审判期间，她都不允许为自己做辩护，她的几位律师也无法为她发声……这名女子与家人天各一方只是因为她说出了一个国家将通奸女子处以石刑的残酷。

该委员会副主席纳丁也着重提及了一位有良知的伊朗囚犯：优素福。他是一名牧师，信仰伊斯兰教。他入狱多年，曾因背教而背叛死刑。不过，随后他又得到了释放。但在2018年月，优素福再次遭到拘禁，要服刑10年，原因是他违背了国家安全，因为他弘扬犹太复国主义的基督教，还运营着几个教堂。关于他，副主席纳丁表示：

伊朗警方曾试图半夜敲他家房门。他儿子开了门。警方用泰瑟枪将他扫射在地，然后殴打了这位牧师，并将他逮捕到监狱中。他现在已在德黑兰的艾文监狱中入狱10年，该监狱是伊朗条件最差的监狱。

在部长级会议上，副总统彭斯强调说，美国将继续呼吁伊朗不要发生迫害宗教少数群体的行为。他为长期处于水深火热的伊朗人民传递了一则信息：我们极力反对伊朗领导人，我们知道自己会一直支持你们。我们也敦促你们继续带着勇气前行，为自由的事业而奋斗。

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

4 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

5 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

6 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

7 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

8 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

9 apostasy   

n.背教，脱党

参考例句：

• Apostasy often has its roots in moral failure.背道的人通常是先在道德方面一败涂地。
• He was looked down upon for apostasy.他因背教而受轻视。

10 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

12 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。