巴西檢方起訴總統特梅爾
Brazil’s president Michel Temer has been indicted for corruption, marking the first time since the return of democracy in the 1980s that a leader of Latin America’s largest country has faced criminal charges.
巴西總統米歇爾特梅爾(Michel Temer)已因涉嫌腐敗而被起訴，這是自上世紀80年代巴西恢復民主制以來，這個拉美最大國家的領導人首次面臨刑事指控。Prosecutor-general Rodrigo Janot filed the charges to the supreme court on Monday evening, citing a tape of a conversation between Mr Temer and a businessman in which the Brazilian leader allegedly discussed bribes.
週一晚，巴西總檢察長羅德里戈雅諾(Rodrigo Janot)向巴西最高法院提起訴訟，並以一段特梅爾與一名商人之間對話的錄音作爲證據。特梅爾被控在這次對話中討論了關於賄賂的事情。“This is a first for a president of Brazil so it is uncharted waters,” said Joo Augusto de Castro Neves, analyst with Eurasia Group, of the charges.
歐亞集團(Eurasia Group)分析師若昂奧古斯托德卡斯特羅內維斯(Joo Augusto de Castro Neves)在談到這些指控時表示：“這是頭一次有巴西總統受到起訴，因此這是一片未知水域。”
The indictment is the climax of a three-year wave of investigations into corruption at the highest levels of Brazilian politics and business that started with a probe into graft at state-owned oil company Petrobras and has spread to other companies and sectors.
這一起訴標誌着，對巴西政商兩界最高層展開的一輪長達三年的腐敗調查達到了高潮。這輪調查始於一項對國有石油企業巴西國家石油公司(Petrobras)賄賂行爲的調查，現已擴展至其他企業和產業。The anti-corruption purge by independent police, prosecutors and judges have led to the investigation of five sitting and former presidents as well as one-third of Mr Temer’s cabinet, one-third of the senate and a large number of lower house congressmen.
這輪由獨立警察、檢察官和法官開展的反腐清洗，已引發對巴西五位現任和前任總統、以及對特梅爾內閣三分之一成員、巴西三分之一的參議員和一大批衆議員的調查。Mr Temer was secretly taped by a businessman, Joesley Batista, the former chairman of Brazil’s largest meatpacker JBS, discussing bribes during an unofficial meeting at the president’s residence in March.
巴西最大的肉類加工商JBS的前董事長若埃斯萊巴蒂斯塔(Joesley Batista)曾祕密錄下特梅爾討論賄賂事宜的對話，那次對話發生在今年3月在特梅爾官邸的一次非正式會晤期間。Mr Batista followed up the conversation by taping a discussion of bribes with Mr Temer’s special assistant, Rodrigo Loures. The federal police later filmed Mr Loures accepting a suitcase packed with R$500,000 ($151,000) from a JBS executive.
在那次對話之後，巴蒂斯塔又錄了一段與特梅爾特別助理羅德里戈洛雷斯(Rodrigo Loures)討論賄賂事宜的談話。巴西聯邦警察後來拍攝到洛雷斯接受了JBS一名高管送給他的一個裝有50萬雷亞爾（合15.1萬美元）的手提箱。“Between March and April 2017, with free and conscious will, the president of the republic, Michel Miguel Temer Lulia, taking advantage of his position as head of the executive power and national political leader, received for ugh Rodrigo Santos da Rocha Loures, an undue advantage of R$500,000 offered by Joesley Mendona Batista,” said the indictment.
起訴書稱：“2017年3月到4月，共和國總統米歇爾米格爾特梅爾盧利亞(Michel Miguel Temer Lulia)在擁有自由和清醒意志的狀態下，利用他作爲行政權力掌控人及國家政治領導人的地位……通過羅德里戈桑托斯達羅沙洛雷斯(Rodrigo Santos da Rocha Loures)之手……爲自己收取了若埃斯萊門東薩巴蒂斯塔(Joesley Mendona Batista)提供的50萬雷亞爾不當利益。”
It said the pair had colluded with JBS to receive a total of R$38m in bribes.
起訴書表示，這兩人曾與JBS合謀收取總計3800萬雷亞爾的賄賂。Mr Temer has vehemently denied wrongdoing and said he would not resign. Asked by journalists in Brasília earlier on Monday if he would cut short his tenure as a result of any indictment, Mr Temer reportedly chuckled and said “look at my smile”.
特梅爾已斷然否認有不當行爲，並表示他不會辭職。有報道稱，在巴西利亞被記者們問到是否會因任何起訴而提前結束任期時，特梅爾輕聲笑道：“請看我的笑容”。Under Brazil’s constitution, the supreme court must send the indictment to the 513-seat lower house of congress. The case can only go to trial in the supreme court if a two-thirds majority of the lower house approves.
依據巴西憲法，最高法院必須將該起訴書呈送有513個席位的巴西衆議院。只有得到衆議院三分之二多數的批准，該案才能在最高法院開庭審理。A political veteran as the former head of congress’ largest party, the Brazilian Democratic Movement party, or PMDB, and three times former house speaker, Mr Temer is expected to be able to summon the more than one-third of the congress necessary to avoid the trial.
作爲一位政壇老手，特梅爾曾任巴西議會第一大黨巴西民主運動黨(Brazilian Democratic Movement Party)黨魁，並曾三次擔任衆議院議長，預計他有能力征集到避免該案開庭審理所需的逾三分之一的議會表決票。
