IN THE NEWS - Saddam Hussein Trial Suspended Until December

IN THE NEWS - Saddam Hussein Trial Suspended Until December 21st
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Saturday, December 10, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

The trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in Baghdad has been suspended until after parliamentary elections. The elections will take place on Thursday. The trial is to continue on December twenty-first.

Saddam Hussein is on trial with seven other men. The charges involve the killing¹ of more than one hundred forty people from the Shiite town of Dujail, north of Baghdad. They were executed after an attack directed at Saddam Hussein in nineteen eighty-two.

 
Saddam Hussein (file photo)
Gunmen from a Shiite party fired at a vehicle in which he rode through the town. The Iraqi leader was rescued after several hours of fighting. Later, his security forces attacked Dujail. They destroyed houses and businesses, and took away most of the men. Many never returned.

The trial began on October nineteenth. The seven other men charged include Saddam Hussein's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim. He was the Iraqi intelligence chief at the time of the killings². Another is Taha Yassin Ramadan. He was vice³ president from nineteen ninety-one to two thousand three. A third defendant⁴ is Awad Haman Bander Sadun. He was chief of Iraq's Revolutionary Court. He signed death sentences in connection with Dujail killings.

A group of five judges will decide the case. A chief investigating judge questions those who give evidence in the court. So far, those witnesses have described watching close family members being questioned, tortured and killed.

They have told how security forces destroyed crops and property in Dujail. And they have described being held for years in the Abu Ghraib prison. The men on trial, however, say the witnesses have not named them as connected in any way to these crimes.

Iraqi and American officials planned the trial after American troops captured Saddam Hussein in two thousand three. The officials say holding the trial in the country provides a good example for a democratic Iraq.

But violence has interfered⁵ with the trial. Two defense⁶ lawyers have been killed. Another has resigned. And officials have said they discovered a plot to attack the courtroom. Also, one of the judges left the trial when he learned that one of the defendants⁷ had signed an order for the death of his brother.

The defendants have shouted at the judges and other people in the courtroom. Saddam Hussein has denounced the court and told the judge to "go to hell." On Wednesday he refused to attend the trial. It continued without him. He has promised to be in court when the trial begins again on December twenty-first.

The former president could be executed if found guilty of the Dujail killings. But Iraqi government lawyers are preparing twelve other cases that could be brought against him in the future.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach.  I'm Steve Ember.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 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。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

5 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件