VOA常速英语2008年-British Court Rules 9/11 Suspect Can Claim Dama

By Tendai Maphosa
London
14 February 2008

Britain's Court of Appeal has ruled an Algerian pilot wrongly accused of training the 9/11 hijackers is entitled to claim damages.  From London Tendai Maphosa has more in this report for VOA.

The Appeal Court judges ruled Lofti Raissi, who spent five months in jail after being wrongly accused of training 9/11 hijackers, should be allowed to claim damages.

The judges said evidence suggested police and prosecutors¹ were responsible for serious faults in detaining him for nearly five months. 

The British government had rejected a claim for compensation by Raissi in 2004.

Following the Appeal Court ruling, Raissi told British television that he is not a terrorist and he abhors² terrorism.  He said the wrongful arrest had ruined his life as he has been blacklisted from working as a pilot. 

"Now I am completely exonerated³ I am very glad since the day I had faith in British justice and justice is what I got," he said.  "I never thought I would see the day that I would be completely exonerated, and now I will ask the Home Secretary to provide me with a widely publicized apology for my family, and for the part that they played in destroying my life and my career."

Police arrested Raissi September 21, 2001,10 days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  He was released from a high security jail when a judge ruled there was no evidence whatsoever⁴ to connect him with terrorism.

At hearings to have him extradited to the United States, counsel for the state alleged⁵ he had taught four of the hijackers how to fly and had associated with known terrorist suspects, including the suspected ringleader Mohammed Atta.

A video the FBI claimed showed Raissi with one of the hijackers was revealed in court to be footage of him with his cousin.  The government refused to compensate⁶ him for wrongful arrest and imprisonment⁷ and claims the British authorities were acting⁸ properly on an American request for his extradition⁹.

The Ministry¹⁰ of Justice issued a short statement saying it is considering whether to appeal.

Thursday's judgment¹¹ follows the dismissal Wednesday of terrorism convictions against five young Muslims after judges concluded that reading Islamist material was not illegal unless there was "direct" proof it was to be used to inspire violent extremism.

1 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。

2 abhors   

v.憎恶( abhor的第三人称单数 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰

参考例句：

• For the same reason, our party abhors the deification of an individual. 因为这样，我们党也厌弃对于个人的神化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She abhors cruelty to animals. 她憎恶虐待动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 exonerated   

v.使免罪，免除( exonerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The police report exonerated Lewis from all charges of corruption. 警方的报告免除了对刘易斯贪污的所有指控。
• An investigation exonerated the school from any blame. 一项调查证明该学校没有任何过失。 来自辞典例句

4 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

5 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

6 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

7 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

8 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。

9 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。