2007年VOA标准英语-Testimony Begins in US Terrorism Trial

By Brian Wagner
Miami
15 May 2007

A U.S. court has begun hearing testimony¹ from witnesses in the terrorism trial of Jose Padilla, an American convert to Islam. From Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports the alleged² al-Qaida recruit is accused of planning to help commit terrorist attacks around the world.

Jose Padilla (file photo)

Prosecutors³ opened their case against Jose Padilla in a federal court house in Miami this week, five years after the alleged al-Qaida recruit was first detained by U.S. authorities.

They say one key piece of evidence is a form signed by Padilla to join a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. They called their first witnesses early Tuesday, an FBI agent and a CIA official who helped obtain the document from a source in Afghanistan.

Padilla is standing⁴ trial with two other men who are accused of operating a terrorist cell in south Florida which recruited people to fight alongside Islamic extremists in other countries. Defense⁵ attorneys say the men had no link to al-Qaida and only sought to aid Muslims who were being attacked in places like Chechnya and Kosovo in the 1990s.

Wake Forest University law professor Bobby Chesney says the jury trial, which is expected to last more than three months, may be a key test of recent efforts to strengthen U.S. anti-terrorism legislation. "It's an important case both as a question of the scope of criminal law in the terrorism context, and of course given the great amount of attention drawn⁶ by Jose Padilla. It's important politically as well," he said.

The Bush administration has faced repeated criticism over its treatment of Padilla since his arrest at Chicago's International Airport in 2002 as he arrived on a flight from Pakistan. Officials initially⁷ said he planned to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb." He was classified as an enemy combatant and placed in military custody⁸.

More than three years later, he was transferred to civilian⁹ custody to face charges of providing material support for terrorism and conspiring¹⁰ to murder, kidnap and maim¹¹ people outside the country.

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, but the presiding judge in Miami rejected it.

Professor Chesney of Wake Forest University says the courts have resolved many of the legal issues surrounding Padilla's time in military custody. "The net result of it all is to suggest that unless something changes, issues about what he experienced as a military detainee are not going to play a role in this trial. Then again, you never know what might happen in trial," he said.

Padilla's co-defendants are Jordanian-born Kifah Jayyousi and Lebanese-born Palestinian Adham Hassoun. They face life in prison, if convicted.

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 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

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 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 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。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 maim   

v.使残废，使不能工作，使伤残

参考例句：

• Automobile accidents maim many people each year. 汽车车祸每年使许多人残废。
• These people kill and maim innocent civilians.这些人杀死和残害无辜平民。