2006年VOA标准英语-Militant Indonesian Cleric Released From Prison

 By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Jakarta
14 June 2006

Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has been released after 25 months in jail for the role he played in the deadly 2002 Bali bombings. 
 

Abu Bakar Bashir waves to supporters who surround him as he walks out of Cipinang prison, Wednesday  
  
Hundreds of supporters shouted "God is great" outside Jakarta's Cipinang prison early Wednesday while police blew whistles to clear the way as Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir walks out of jail.

Bashir spoke¹ briefly² to the crowd.

He promised to continue his fight to "uphold Islamic sharia" and said this law was needed to help Indonesia, which is now shrouded³ "in darkness."

The 68-year-old was convicted two years ago of being part of a conspiracy⁴ behind the 2002 bombings in Bali that killed 202 people.

Bashir is accused of being the spiritual leader of the Southeast Asian group Jemaah Islamiyah, which is linked to the al Qaida terror network.

J.I. has been blamed for a series of terrorist bombings in Indonesia over the past several years. Several J.I. leaders convicted in the attacks attended an Islamic boarding school Bashir founded.

Bashir, a hard-line Islamist, was originally sentenced to 30 months in jail. The sentence was cut last year as part of regular remissions given to prisoners to mark Indonesia's Independence Day.

The United States and Australia - which lost 88 citizens in the Bali attack - have expressed disappointment over what they view as too lenient⁵ a jail term.

Bashir denies any wrongdoing, saying J.I. does not exist. Anti-terrorism experts have said the group wants to create an Islamic state across much of Southeast Asia.

Indonesia has arrested more than 200 people, sentencing three to death, for the roles they played in terrorist attacks in the country.

But none of the trials has produced evidence linking Bashir directly to the preparation or execution of terrorist attacks in Indonesia. Many security experts say he has little operational role in J.I.

Bashir's lawyer, Adnan Wirawan, says the cleric simply wants to spend his remaining years teaching at his school.

"He's going to spend the remaining time of his life to do good for others," he said. "To preach and to teach in his school that he was a founder⁶ of … he's going to prove that he's a man of peace, that he does not believe in violence to achieve his goals."

After he walked out of prison, Bashir was whisked away by car for the 600-kilometer drive to his home in Solo in West Java, where he will undergo a medical check-up before he returns to his school

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

3 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

5 lenient   

adj.宽大的，仁慈的

参考例句：

• The judge was lenient with him.法官对他很宽大。
• It's a question of finding the means between too lenient treatment and too severe punishment.问题是要找出处理过宽和处罚过严的折中办法。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。