VOA标准英语2008年-British Court Rejects Muslim Cleric's US Extrad

A British court has rejected an appeal by a radical¹ Muslim cleric who has been trying to block his extradition² to the United States. From London, Tendai Maphosa reports for VOA that U.S. prosecutors³ accuse the cleric of attempting to set up a terrorist training camp in the western U.S. state of Oregon.

Egyptian-born Abu Hamza al-Masri is already serving a seven-year jail term in Britain for inciting⁴ racial hatred⁵ and urging his followers⁶ to murder non-Muslims.

The United States wants to try him on 11 charges, including funding terrorism, organizing a terrorist training camp in Oregon between 1998 and 2000 and conspiracy⁷ to take 12 Westerners hostage in Yemen in 1998.

Hamza has been fighting his extradition since the request was first filed in May 2004.

He appealed against a court's approval of his extradition in 2007. Home Office Secretary Jacqui Smith rejected the appeal earlier this year.

Speaking after Smith's ruling, Hamza's lawyer, Muddassar Arani, expressed concerns about what might happen should he be extradited to the United States. She said even though the Americans said he would not face the death penalty or be sent to the Guantanamo Bay detention⁸ camp, there were no guarantees this would not happen. She also alleged⁹ her client could be tortured if sent to the United States.

Requests by VOA to obtain comment from his legal representatives went unanswered, but a Reuters news report says Hamza could still renew his appeal application directly to the Law Lords, Britain's highest judicial¹⁰ body.

His other option, Roisin Pillay, a spokesperson of the International Commission of Jurists told VOA is an appeal to the European Court of Human rights.

"There are some circumstances in which he could appeal to the European Court of Human Rights if he alleged that he would not face a fair trial in the United States; he alleged that he would face the death penalty in the United States and would spend time on death row there," Pillay said. "In those circumstances the European Court of Human rights would order that he should not be extradited because it has found that spending time on death row, for example, can amount to inhuman¹¹ and degrading treatment."

If Hamza is extradited, tried and found guilty by a U.S. court he faces up to 100 years in jail.

 

 

1 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

2 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。

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 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

5 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

6 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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

10 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

11 inhuman   

adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的

参考例句：

• We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
• It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。