2006年VOA标准英语-Complicated Saddam Case Raises Concerns

By Jim Randle
Irbil, Iraq
22 September 2006 
 

		Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein argues with a judge (file photo)

Some of the investigators¹ who gathered evidence for Saddam Hussein's trial on genocide charges have doubts about the ability of Iraq's courts to handle such a difficult case. It was an eventful week in that trial with harrowing testimony² from witnesses, the firing of the chief judge, and Saddam ejected from the courtroom.

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Here in the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq, residents follow the case closely on television. Much of the trial's recent testimony consisted of Kurdish witnesses describing their often horrible experiences, suffering burns and blindness from chemical weapons attacks. Later defense³ attorneys tried to cast doubts on the witnesses' credibility.

Human Rights Watch, which gathered evidence used in the case, has expressed concerns about the capacity of Iraq's court to meet international standards of justice and render a fair verdict. Those concerns may have been heightened this week when Iraq's government dismissed the Chief Judge for failing to be neutral and being too sympathetic to the defendant⁴.

Human Rights Watch's International Justice Program Director Richard Dicker says the court must be particularly skillful because genocide is a difficult crime to prove.

"Because it has this requirement that the prosecutor⁵ must show that the accused was motivated by or acting⁶ with very specific intent to eliminate a target group on the basis of either their ethnicity, their religious beliefs or their nationality, not because they were political opponents," he said.

The Kurdistan Regional Government's minister for extra regional affairs, Mohammed Ihsan, also gathered evidence in the massive case. He says the defendants⁷ are trying to excuse their actions by saying they were necessary in a time of war.

But Ihsan says even war has rules and limits.

"War does not mean chaos⁸ [is justified], war does not mean killing⁹ civilians¹⁰ [is acceptable], it does not mean killing children and women, does not mean using chemical weapons. War does not mean demolishing¹¹ whole cities. War does not mean destroying 4,000 villages," he said.

Ihsan says he also worries that Iraq's underdeveloped legal system may not be strong enough to render a fair verdict in such a difficult and complex case.

Saddam, his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majeed, known as "Chemical Ali", and five others face chages of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their roles in the 1988 Anfal campaign in northern Kurdistan. Prosecutors¹² say the attacks killed 182,000 Kurds with poison gas and other weapons. Saddam and Majeed also face charges of genocide.

Ihsan says the trial is a step toward justice, but real justice may have to wait for God.

"In this life there is no complete justice, nowhere is there complete justice," he added.

A conviction could mean death by hanging for the defendants.

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

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 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 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

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

8 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

9 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。

10 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

11 demolishing   

v.摧毁( demolish的现在分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings. 这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。 来自《用法词典》
• Conventional demolishing work would have caused considerable interruptions in traffic. 如果采用一般的拆除方法就要引起交通的严重中断。 来自辞典例句

12 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。