2006年VOA标准英语-Terror Suspect's Lawyers Ask Court to Suppress

By Lisa Ferdinando
Miami
18 July 2006

Lawyers for terror suspect Jose Padilla are seeking to suppress statements their client made to U.S. government agents before he was arrested in May 2002. Padilla is being held in Miami and appeared in court Monday for a pretrial hearing.

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A special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation¹, Russell Fincher, testified about interviewing Padilla for hours at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in 2002. 

Jose Padilla (file photo)  
  
Fincher says he believed Padilla had information about a terror attack and officials wanted his cooperation. The agent says authorities believe Padilla trained with al-Qaida and met with top al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He says Padilla willingly talked to investigators², but gave vague or inconsistent answers. Fincher says Padilla eventually refused to cooperate further and was then read his rights and arrested. But Padilla's lawyers are seeking to have the statements their client made before his arrest suppressed, saying he should have been informed of his legal rights from the start.

Padilla was designated an enemy combatant and held in military custody³ for three years without charge for an alleged⁴ plot to detonate a radiological device, a so-called dirty bomb. He was transferred to civilian⁵ custody last year and charged with being part of a North American terror network. He has pleaded not guilty.

The current charges do not include the alleged dirty bomb plot.

The pre-trial hearing resumes Tuesday. The judge has not indicated when he would rule on the request to suppress those statements. Padilla is expected to go on trial later this year.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 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》

3 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。

4 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

5 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。