2006年VOA标准英语-Indonesia's Supreme Court Clears Abu Bakar Bash

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Jakarta
21 December 2006

Indonesia's Supreme¹ Court has overturned the guilty verdict against the militant² Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir for conspiracy³ in the 2002 terrorist bombings on the island of Bali that claimed over 200 lives. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in Jakarta has more.

The court on Thursday said it had accepted

Abu Bakar Bashir (file)

appeal against his conviction.

The 68-year-old cleric was released from prison in June after serving 25 months of a 30-month sentence for conspiracy in the bombings, which killed 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.

Adnan Wirawan, a lawyer for Bashir, says he is elated with the court's verdict.

"We feel that this is something that it should have been. This is something that my client deserves all along," said Wirawan.

Bashir is accused of being the spiritual leader of the regional terrorist group, Jemaah Islamiyah.  J.I. has been blamed for a number of terrorist attacks in Indonesia and the Philippines over the last few years, including the 2002 Bali bombings.

No evidence has been produced linking Bashir to the preparation or execution of terrorist attacks in Indonesia and most analysts⁴ agree the Muslim cleric has little operational role in J.I.

But Western governments, including the United States and Australia, criticized the light sentence handed to Bashir after his conviction.

His lawyer claims those same Western governments put pressure on Indonesia to find Bashir guilty in the first place and only the Supreme Court was able to act independently.

"With this verdict it proves that all this time our judicial⁵ system under the influence of foreign governments," he added.

After his release from jail in June, Bashir returned to the West Java Islamic boarding school he founded, where, he says, he spends his time fighting for the introduction of Sharia, or Islamic law, in Indonesia.

Several of Jemaah Islamiyah's leaders convicted in the Bali bombings attended Bashir's boarding school.

Bashir has always denied any involvement in J.I.

Indonesia is a secular⁶, democratic nation with the world's largest Muslim population.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 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。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 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。

6 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。