8.Olga LaFond — Direct/Cross
201 lines(Discussion at sidebar and out of the hearing of the jury:)
MR. FICK: My understanding is this witness is an interpreter or linguist, and all of the exhibits about which she is going to testify and the translations are already in evidence, so I'm not sure what the point of the testimony is if these translations are already admitted.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: I think there are a couple that aren't in, but mostly she's going to say that she has fairly and accurately translated them.
THE COURT: All right. What are they?
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: The items from the computer. There were some Russian documents that we introduced.
THE COURT: The VAIO? The Sony VAIO?
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: They're actually from the HP, and then I have some from one of the thumb drives as well. Mr. Fick had raised an objection during the admission of all of that that all of the work was not done by the agent, and the agent made clear that aside from the translations, that he had verified everything else, so we felt it incumbent upon us just to make sure the record is clear that the person who then verified the translations has also testified --
MR. FICK: The only objection to the translations, Mr. Chakravarty, was because we had gotten them the night before. Having now looked at them, they're more or less fine and they're already in evidence, so I don't see the purpose of the testimony other than just repeating what's already been displayed to the jury.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: I'm not going to publish it to the jury.
THE COURT: It won't take long. You might as well.
(In open court:)
OLGA LAFOND, duly sworn
COURT CLERK: Have a seat. State your name and spell your last name for the record, keep your voice up and speak into the mic so everyone can hear you.
OLGA LAFOND: My name is Olga LaFond, L-A-F-O-N-D.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Good afternoon.
OLGA LAFOND: Good afternoon.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Are you a linguist with the Federal Bureau of Investigation?
OLGA LAFOND: That's correct.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And are you particularly a language specialist?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes, I am.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: What does that mean?
OLGA LAFOND: That means that I translate whatever materials come to my desk; all kinds of written, audio materials, printed matter. Whatever needs to be translated from English into Russian or from Russian into English, I do that. Not only I, we have quite a few Russian linguists too.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And are you a certified Russian linguist by the FBI?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes, I am.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And is there a training protocol that is required before you can be certified?
OLGA LAFOND: There's not a training protocol.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: I'm sorry. Competency testing?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Can you just briefly explain what that is?
OLGA LAFOND: When a candidate applies to work at the FBI as a linguist, there is a battery of tests that this person has to take, written tests and speaking proficiency tests. So if you pass the written tests, Russian into English, then the next phase is the speaking proficiency test. And if you pass that, then after the polygraph and background investigation and all of that, then you get hired.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And did you pass those tests?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes, I did.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And is there different rankings that you receive when you take those tests?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And how did you do on that test?
OLGA LAFOND: I did the highest score. The highest score is three out of three, and I tested the three.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And are you a native Russian speaker?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes, I am.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And are you fluent in English as well?
OLGA LAFOND: I think I am.
(Laughter.)
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Now, for purposes of this trial, did you review various Russian documents that were ultimately to become exhibits in this case for the jury?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And did you review them to determine whether they were fair and accurate translations of Russian language into English?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And when you translate from Russian into English, can you explain whether you're translating literally or for the meaning of the phrase or the words?
OLGA LAFOND: The first no-no of a translation is a literal translation because it does not convey the meaning. We translate not word-for-word but meaning-for-meaning, because in different languages the same ideas are expressed through different means, so -- or through different words, different phrases.
So that's what we do. We translate meaning-for-meaning, and we try to preserve, of course, the accuracy of the original text, the source document, as we call it, and we try to make the end product, the target language translation, sound as natural, in my case, in English, as we can.
But since the bureau does not do literal -- literary translations, we do government stuff, then sometimes we go more with awkward wording if it preserves the accuracy more than make our end product look pretty. So we'll go more with accuracy than with the pretty stuff.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And does sometimes the context of a translation change based on other information that you have, either from the type of communication that exists or if you have a writing that is either self-contained or a portion of a writing?
OLGA LAFOND: That's why it's a good idea when you get a document to translate, to read through the document and understand what it means, because if you start translating right away, then you may see, may not -- but may see something, Oh, this is not about that. This is a completely different thing. So that will give you a much better idea if you start with reading through the document and understanding what the document is about, verifying the terminology, making sure that you understand what it is about and that you're not making any mistakes, and then you start translating it.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Is the Russian language written in the Cyrillic alphabet?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And that is not the same alphabet that is used by English speakers. Is that fair to say?
OLGA LAFOND: That is correct.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Is there also a transliteration of that kind of Russian language into -- can Russian language be transliterated into English characters?
OLGA LAFOND: Well, you can do that but it will be gibberish. To an English speaker, it will be gibberish. If a Russian speaker looks at a word that is written in English letters, and if it's -- if the Russian speaker recognizes it as a Russian word, then, yes, it is understandable.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Okay. So as an example, there's a word called "horosho" in Russian. What does that mean?
OLGA LAFOND: It means good.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And I'm sure there's a Cyrillic way to write horosho?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: You could also write "horosho" also H-O-R-O-S-H-O?
OLGA LAFOND: In English, yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So a Russian speaker could understand something that's communicated in English?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes. There's actually -- at the early stages of Internet and emailing, when we didn't have the Russian capability, we would write to our friends an email in English letters, Russian in English letters. And then, of course, with the development of technology, with the possibility of downloading Russian fonts, then we switched to Russian. But before that, we did that in English letters. It looks funny.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So for purposes of your testimony today, did you review a number of computer files with me and confirm that those were fair and accurate translations of the Russian --
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Okay. And I'm just going to read off a list of exhibit numbers and ask if you can verify that those are the exhibits that -- and these are the exhibits that we looked at last night: 1282, 1321, 1408, 1409, 1143-09, 1143-10A, -13A, -15A, -37A, -38A, -39A, -40A, -41A, -66A, -72A, -73A, -74A, -80A, 1150-01B, 1150-3, and 1150-7A.
Were those all Russian language -- they had -- documents that contained Russian language that you verified the translations for?
OLGA LAFOND: I think they are. I remember all of the 1143s and 1150s. And I don't quite remember the 12 whatever. But I --
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Fair enough. I'll call them up on the screen just for your convenience.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Just for the witness, your Honor. 1282, please.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Do you recall that one?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes. I remember that one, yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: 1321, page 2?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: 1408?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And 1409?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes, I remember them.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Your Honor, I believe the 1143 series and the 1150 series are already in evidence. I would move into evidence 1321, 1408 and 1409.
THE COURT: Okay.
(Government Exhibit Nos. 1321, 1408 and 1409 received into evidence.)
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: If we could go to 1408, please.
If we could publish this, your Honor.
BY MR. CHAKRAVARTY:
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Ms. LaFond, is this a document that was pulled from the Sony VAIO laptop, Exhibit 1142?
OLGA LAFOND: I do not remember from where it was pulled from. I do know this document. I've seen it and I've reviewed it.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Okay.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: If we could, Mr. Bruemmer, just go quickly to the computer evidence, 1142.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: I'm calling up 1142-148. Does this appear to be a Russian-language document?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And did you translate portions of this in verbatim?
OLGA LAFOND: I did not translate any of the documents almost. I think I translated one. I reviewed them all for court. We have a special procedure when the documents go to court. We have a second, and sometimes a third pair of eyes to take a look so that everything's correct and accurate.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Thank you for clarifying. So you didn't translate these originally, but then you verified the accuracy of the translations?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes. I got all the translations from my supervisor and I reviewed them for accuracy.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So for this document, 1148, below does it -- down here does it describe what that document is? Or sorry. Are these the literal translations of the words that appear on the screen? I shouldn't have said "literal." Are these the verbatim translations?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And is this a Ukrainian website which is -- reading Section D -- the title is "Shooting the Handgun. Techniques and Routines, Method of the Death to the Spies Directorate"?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And it appears to be a Ukrainian document?
OLGA LAFOND: It's not a Ukrainian document.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Okay. The website is --
OLGA LAFOND: The website is Ukrainian but there is a wealth of Russian language stuff on the Ukrainian website.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Okay. But it's in the Russian language?
OLGA LAFOND: This one was in the Russian language originally.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Page 2, please.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And this is the title page, and it lists that it was published, Trading House in Moscow in 2001, it looks like?
OLGA LAFOND: Correct.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Next page, please.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And this is just kind of a summary of the document?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes, that's true.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And does it read "The Practical Study Guide on the Shooting of Combat Handguns in Various Conditions"?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes, it does say that.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And then it goes on to talk about the Soviet military?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Can we go to 1409, please.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Now, various computer files, did they have Cyrillic titles to the computer files?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And is this document a translation of some of those titles?
OLGA LAFOND: The file names, yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Can we go to page 2 and page 3.
OLGA LAFOND: Yeah, that's a continuation of the list.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Okay. Just go back to page 1.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Now, just to orient the jury on how this works, the original title is in -- so using Item 1, for example, the original title is in Cyrillic. Does it appear to have some Cyrillic characters there?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: And then right underneath that for Item 1 is the translation?
OLGA LAFOND: The translation, yes, of the first line.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: So the first example, the translation of the file name is "Why Do We Hate Them"?
OLGA LAFOND: That is correct; yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: That's all I have, your Honor.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. FICK:
OLGA LAFOND: Good afternoon.
MR. FICK: My name is Bill Fick. I'm one of Mr. Tsarnaev's lawyers. I'm going to put up on the screen one of the exhibits that was just entered into evidence. It's Exhibit 1321, I believe. If I could get my computer to cooperate. And this exhibit, which I believe Mr. Chakravarty showed you, is a Microsoft Word file that contains certain translations of Mr. Tsarnaev's tweets. Is that correct?
OLGA LAFOND: I don't have it.
THE COURT: I wanted to make sure it is in evidence. I didn't see it on my list of numbers.
MR. FICK: I believe it's one of the numbers Mr. Chakravarty just admitted, if I'm not mistaken. 1321.
THE COURT: Maybe I missed it.
BY MR. FICK:
OLGA LAFOND: Right.
MR. FICK: And this is an exhibit that contains the translations of a number of different tweets from Mr. Tsarnaev. Do you remember that?
OLGA LAFOND: Right.
MR. FICK: And just to talk about a few of these things here, this one here -- and I can show you the Russian from his tweets if you'd like, this is actually a quote from a famous poem by the Russian poet Sergey Esenin, correct?
OLGA LAFOND: I don't know.
OLGA LAFOND: I remember the Russian original. Yeah, I tried to even introduce some rhyme to it so it would look like a poem.
MR. FICK: So one moment. I'll pull up the actual tweet and see if the particular language of the tweet refreshes your memory or rings a bell with you. I believe the date was October 30th of 2012, if I might. This is Exhibit 3000 in evidence, the defense exhibit of all of the tweets. I believe -- I'll just scroll to October 30th of 2012.
(Pause.)
MR. FICK: Okay. Here we go. This text here is the text that you translated, right? (Speaking in Russian).
COURT REPORTER: I'm sorry. I can't write in Russian.
BY MR. FICK:
MR. FICK: The circled text here, that is the text that we looked at there just a minute ago that you had translated, correct?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. FICK: And now looking at the Russian, do you recognize that as being a line from a poem by Sergey Esenin?
OLGA LAFOND: No.
MR. FICK: Did you -- at the time you did the translation, did you do any research to see if you could find where that phrase in Russian came from?
OLGA LAFOND: No, I didn't.
OLGA LAFOND: Of course.
OLGA LAFOND: Yes, of course.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Objection, your Honor. She's already translated these. She has the translation. The language of the court is English. They can read the English translation to make any point they want to make.
THE COURT: No, go ahead. I don't know how much we'll have of it, but go ahead.
BY MR. FICK:
MR. FICK: Oh, actually, yes, I can actually pull up the individual tweet and that will make it easier. I believe it's Exhibit 1282, which was one of the ones you just talked about. Bear with me for one moment while I pull it up. It would help if I had the device attached that contains --
MR. FICK: Oh, I'm sorry. That's actually a good idea. It's Government Exhibit 1282. If Mr. Bruemmer could pull it up for me, that may save us some time. That's it. And if we could switch to his screen.
OLGA LAFOND: Right.
OLGA LAFOND: Yes, with two mistakes.
MR. FICK: And actually, it's misspelled, right? There shouldn't be an A at the beginning, it should actually be an O?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. FICK: And are you aware -- well, first of all, if you were to take this word and divide it in half and you had two words, the first word would be "malo," correct?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. FICK: And the -- if this were a separate word, the second syllable of the second word, "dim," would be "smoke," correct?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes.
MR. FICK: And are you aware there is a Russian rap song with this title with the word broken up like that, "I Shall Die with Malo'dim," and "malo" and "dim" are broken in half?
OLGA LAFOND: No, I'm not aware of that.
OLGA LAFOND: No.
MR. FICK: But if, for example, we had the phrase in Russian that were broken like that, instead of one word at the end here, malodim, if we had "malo" and then "dim" --
OLGA LAFOND: It will make no sense.
OLGA LAFOND: No, it doesn't make any sense.
OLGA LAFOND: There's a word "breakfast" in English. There is "break" and there is "fast."
OLGA LAFOND: But you don't break fast in the morning; you eat breakfast in the morning. You don't break the word apart. And if you -- yes, of course there is a word -- there are words that when you break them, they will consist of two different words, but then you take everything in context. And if you take this phrase in context, it makes no sense.
MR. FICK: You would agree there are, for example, singers, poets, jokesters, people like that that often do plays on words, puns, correct?
OLGA LAFOND: Yes, absolutely. Yes.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Objection, your Honor.
THE COURT: Yeah, sustained. The witness principally in her direct just identified the translations that she did.
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Thank you, your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay.
OLGA LAFOND: I'm excused?
(The witness is excused.)