view on espresso.economist.com -- Dec 10th 2018 -- fan qiang
Magnitsky moves: the EU and Russia
- Magnitsky 马格涅斯基
In 2012 America passed a law imposing sanctions on Russians suspected of involvement in human-rights violations.
The Magnitsky Act, as it was dubbed, was the brainchild of Bill Browder, an anti-Kremlin campaigner whose lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was thrown into a Russian jail for trying to expose a fraud allegedly perpetrated by tax officials.
- Magnitsky Act 马格涅斯基法案
- dub 戳；敲；为(影片,广播节目等)配音；译制(影片)
- brainchild 脑力劳动成果；脑力劳动的产物；脑创意
- Bill Browder 比尔·布劳德
- Kremlin 克林姆林宫，这里指‘俄罗斯政府’
- perpetrate 施(恶行)；犯(过失等)；犯(罪)；胡说
He died in prison. Several countries have followed America’s lead, including Britain, but Mr Browder’s long push for a pan-European Magnitsky law has been to no avail.
- pan-European 泛欧；泛欧洲；全欧洲的
- no avail 没有什么用处；没有用
However, the wind may finally be shifting.
France and Germany, miffed by continued Russian provocations, have warmed to the idea.
- miff 生气；发怒；小争执
At a meeting today, EU foreign ministers may instruct mandarins to start drafting a version.
Whether it passes is another matter.
The bloc is split on how or even whether to punish Russia for its aggressions.
- aggression 侵犯；侵略性；攻击性
Northern countries are keen on getting tougher; Italy and Greece, among others, espouse a softer line.
- be keen on 渴望；喜欢；热衷于
- espouse 赞成；拥护
