VOA慢速英语2014 Radio Free Europe Office Raided by Azerbaijan Officials

 

AS IT IS 2014-12-27 Radio Free Europe Office Raided by Azerbaijan Officials

Government lawyers and police in Azerbaijan raided the offices of a media organization funded by the United States government on Friday. The officials said they have a court order to close the office -- called a bureau.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said at least ten officials from the state prosecutor’s office entered the bureau in the capital Baku. Armed police came with the officials. RFE/RL put a picture online that showed officials detained 20 workers during the search of the office. Another photo showed office supplies on the floor.

The news agency said prosecutors¹ claimed the raid was part of an investigation² of the service for being a “foreign-funded entity³.” The prosecutor’s office told the Associated Press news agency that the search took place to investigate, in its words, a “grave crime,” but did not give details.  

Nenad Pejic is the agency’s editor-in-chief. He said the raid was “a flagrant violation⁴ of every international commitment and standard Azerbaijan has pledged to uphold.”

Earlier this month, a court in the country ordered an RFE journalist held for two months before trial. Reporter Khadija Ismayilova has been accused of pressuring a man to kill himself. American officials have called for her immediate⁵ release. They said the case was the latest attempt by the government to stop its critics from speaking and to restrict freedom of the press.

Nenad Pejic said the charges against Ms. Ismayilova are part of what he calls “a two-year campaign to silence a journalist who has investigated government corruption⁶ and human-rights abuses in Azerbaijan.”

Two months ago, Azerbaijan officials banned Ms. Ismayilova from leaving the country. This ban stopped her from going to meetings in Washington and Prague. She had been set to speak at a hearing on fighting corruption in the OSCE, or Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe. American officials had called for the hearing.

Ms. Ismayilova has reported many stories about the business dealings involving family members of Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev. The president’s office has accused Ms. Ismayilova of treason. And she has been charged in another case for publishing a document on social media that suggests government intelligence agents were involved in illegal acts against an opposition⁷ activist⁸.

The money for RFE/RL operations comes from the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, which also governs VOA.

The RFE/RL Azerbaijani Service was created in 1953.

1 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。

2 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。

3 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

4 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 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。

8 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。