VOA标准英语2013--Guantanamo 9/11 Suspect Hearings Face Rough Start

 

Guantanamo 9/11 Suspect Hearings Face Rough Start

The case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other alleged¹ 9/11 co-conspirators remains² tangled³ in legal motions that are taking months to resolve - before conditions can be set for a trial to take place.

This week's sessions have focused on torture and the conditions in which the accused have been held since their arrests. 

“In the American system, a trial is intended as a search for truth," explains James Connell, an attorney defending one of the suspects. "This motions hearing will begin to take a first step toward finding the truth about what happened in the torture of these men."

Lawyer requests

At issue in this set of hearings were requests by defense⁴ attorneys to spend 48 hours at the detention⁵ facility where the prisoners are held. Questions about who has the power to censor⁶ the proceedings⁷ arose Monday when someone cut the audio feed for three minutes without the judge's approval.

On Tuesday, the five suspects chose not to attend. That followed an outburst Monday when one of the suspects said he did not trust his attorneys and saw no point in coming to court.

Victims' relatives present

Memories of the carnage on that day in 2001 were recalled as relatives of victims got to see the five accused. Among those in the courtroom gallery was Phyllis Rodriguez, whose son Greg died in the New York attacks. 

She came here to see the proceedings up close, but believes the case belongs in an experienced civilian⁸ federal court on U.S. soil.

“I feel it would have been much more open in federal court," she said. "The public would have had much more access. Media would have had much more access. You know, this is a trip to get here, and it's high security, so it's very involved."

President Obama tried to close the Guantanamo detention facility and transfer the prisoners to the U.S. for trial, but a law was later passed forbidding it. 

A special military court set up seven years ago is working through the steps to ensure the trial is fair and transparent⁹. 

More delays

For those eager to see justice in the case, it means more waiting.

"There may not be a trial in my lifetime. It may take years and years. But I'm not impatient because I do not expect closure from the resolution of this trial," said Phyllis Rodriguez. "It's not going to change my life. It's not going to bring my son back no matter what the verdict is. So I'm not impatient. What I believe, I believe it should be done right.”

Doing things right in this trial will take many more days of tedious and complicated proceedings. 

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

4 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。

5 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

6 censor   

n./vt.审查，审查员；删改

参考例句：

• The film has not been viewed by the censor.这部影片还未经审查人员审查。
• The play was banned by the censor.该剧本被查禁了。

7 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

9 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。