2007年VOA标准英语-US-Born Muslim Convert Guilty on Terror Charges

By Brian Wagner
Miami
16 August 2007

U.S.-born Muslim convert Jose Padilla has been found guilty of conspiring¹ to commit terrorist acts abroad. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports a jury found that Padilla and two co-defendants were guilty after a three-month trial.

Jose Padilla, right, looks on in this courtroom drawing as Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Frazier, left, presents closing arguments during his terrorism trial in Miami, Thursday, 16 Aug. 2007

The jury in Miami deliberated for less than two days before declaring the three men guilty of conspiracy² to commit terrorist acts and provide material support to terrorism. The charges against Padilla, Lebanese-born Palestinian Adham Hassoun and Kifah Jayyousi of Jordan, carry possible life prison terms.

Prosecutors³ had said the three belonged to a North American terrorist support cell that sent money, supplies and recruits abroad to fight alongside Islamic extremist groups. They said Padilla became one such terrorist recruit when he met Hassoun at a mosque⁴ in south Florida in the late 1990s.

A key piece of evidence used by prosecutors against Padilla was a form that he allegedly signed in Afghanistan to join an al-Qaida training camp in 2000.

In Washington, acting⁵ Deputy Attorney General Craig Morford congratulated the work of investigators⁶ and prosecutors in the case.

"I believe this case serves as a vivid reminder⁷ of the serious threat that we face, and the need for continued diligence and resolve as we address that threat," said Craig Morford.

Defense⁸ attorneys for Hassoun and Jayyousi said they were disappointed by the verdict and would appeal. They had argued in trial that the two contributed to legitimate⁹ charities that sought to aid Muslims who were being attacked in places like Afghanistan, Chechnya and Kosovo in the 1990s.

After the verdict was read, Padilla's mother, Estela Lebron, said her son traveled to the Middle East and south Asia to study Islam, not to join a terrorist movement.

"He wanted to learn the language, the Arabic language," she said. "He is a Muslim, he can choose whatever religion he wants."

The Bush administration has faced repeated criticism over its treatment of Padilla, since he was detained in 2002 after arriving to Chicago on a flight from Pakistan. He was initially¹⁰ named an enemy combatant and placed in military custody¹¹, because of suspicions that he planned to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb."

More than three years later, he was transferred to civilian¹² custody for trial. Defense lawyers for Padilla have said he was tortured while in military custody and suffered mental damage as a result. They filed a motion to declare Padilla mentally unfit for trial, which was rejected by the judge in Miami.

1 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

2 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。

3 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。

4 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

5 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。

6 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》

7 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

8 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。

9 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

12 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。