2006年以来尼日利亚首次实行绞刑_社会生活

2006年以来尼日利亚首次实行绞刑

文章来源：未知文章作者：enread 发布时间：2013-06-25 08:58 字体： [大中小]　进入论坛

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Four prisoners have been hanged in southern Nigeria, officials say, in what are believed to be the first executions for seven years.

四名囚犯在南尼日利亚被处绞刑，这是近七年以来的首次行刑。

The justice commissioner¹ for the state of Edo, Henry Idahagbon, told reports that the prisoners had been convicted of armed robbery or murder.

Amnesty International said the executions represented "a truly dark day for human rights" in Nigeria.

More than 1,000 prisoners in Nigeria are believed to be on death row.

Local media say President Goodluck Jonathan recently asked state governors to sign death warrants in an effort to reduce crime.

'Brutal² return'

Mr Idahagbon said the four men were hanged at Benin City Prison after a court had ordered their executions on Monday afternoon.

He said all their appeals had been exhausted³ and their death warrants had been signed - two by Edo Governor Adams Oshiomhole, and the others by governors of other states.

The executions were carried out by the prison service, a federal agency, and not the Edo state government.

There were conflicting reports about the fate of a fifth prisoner.

Chino Obiagwu of the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) told the Associated Press the man had been killed.

The execution was initially⁴ delayed by technical problems with the gallows⁵, but he was informed later by email that it had gone ahead, Mr Obiagwu said.

But Mr Idahagbon said the man had not been executed because the prisoner's sentence had called for him to be killed by firing squad⁶, which the prison authorities were not prepared to do.

Amnesty International said it had received credible⁷ reports of four executions in Benin City.

"If confirmed, these executions mark a sudden, brutal return to the use of the death penalty in Nigeria, a truly dark day for human rights in the country," its deputy director for Africa, Lucy Freeman, said in a statement.

She called on the Nigerian authorities to "return to the moratorium⁸ on executions".

Although Monday's executions would be the first known to have taken place since 2006, Nigerian security forces have been accused repeatedly of carrying out extra-judicial killings⁹ in the intervening years.

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收听单词发音

1 commissioner
n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员
参考例句：
The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。 He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

2 brutal
adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的
参考例句：
She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。 They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

3 exhausted
adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的
参考例句：
It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。 Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

4 initially
adv.最初，开始
参考例句：
The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。 Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 gallows
n.绞刑架，绞台
参考例句：
The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。 Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。

6 squad
n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组
参考例句：
The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。 A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

7 credible
adj.可信任的，可靠的
参考例句：
The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。 Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

8 moratorium
n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付
参考例句：
The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。 We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

9 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。

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