2006年VOA标准英语-Saddam Returns to Baghdad Court, Defense Team C

By Jim Randle
Irbil, Iraq
09 October 2006

		testimony1, Monday, Oct. 9, 2006" src="/upimg/allimg/070429/1639110.jpg" width="180" border="0" /> Saddam Hussein reads the Quran as he listens to witness testimony, Monday, Oct. 9, 2006

Saddam Hussein's genocide trial has resumed in Baghdad after more than a week in recess², but defense³ lawyers continued their boycott⁴ of the court session. VOA's Jim Randle reports from the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, where the so-called Anfal campaign against Iraq Kurds was carried out in the 1980s.

----

The former Iraqi leader took his seat in the defendants⁵' fenced area, along with six co-defendants.

However, his lawyers were absent, continuing a boycott of the court sessions to protest removal of the previous chief judge, Abdullah al-Amiri, who was accused of being biased⁶ in favor of Saddam.

Saddam and his cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majeed, also known as "Chemical Ali", and five former commanders are facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their roles in the 1988 campaign that prosecutors⁷ say left 182,000 Kurds dead or missing.

Saddam and Majeed also face a charge of genocide. A conviction could send all the accused to the gallows⁸.

When testimony began, Kurdish witnesses described their suffering during the Anfal campaign, when Saddam's forces attacked and destroyed thousands of villages, and allegedly ordered the use of chemical weapons against the town of Halabja.

Some witnesses asked that their names, faces, and even voices, be disguised to protect them from retaliation⁹.

The hearings in this case have been turbulent, and Saddam has been thrown out of court three times.

Jiyan Azizz Bapier, a lawyer who represents many of the Anfal victims, says Saddam's courtroom actions, shouting at the judge and getting thrown out of court, appear designed to undercut the court's legitimacy¹⁰, and perhaps unsettle the judge, so he makes mistakes.

In a separate trial, Saddam is waiting for a verdict on charges he committed crimes against humanity in the deaths of 148 Shi'ite men from the town of Dujail in the 1980s. That case is scheduled to reconvene on October 16 for judges to review witness testimony.

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

3 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。

4 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

5 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

6 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

7 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

8 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。

9 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。