2007年VOA标准英语-Egypt Court Sentences Nuclear Engineer to Life

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
25 June 2007

An Egyptian court has sentenced a nuclear engineer to life in prison for handing over nuclear secrets to Israel. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from Cairo.

Egyptian engineer Mohammed Sayyed Saber Ali (l), 35, attends a State Security court in Cairo, 25 June 2007

The state security court in Cairo handed down the sentences in a brief session lasting¹ only about five minutes.

The judge said Mohammed Sayed Saber Ali and two other defendants² were sentenced to life in prison.

A life sentence in Egypt usually means serving about 25 years.

The other two men are citizens of Ireland and Japan who were tried in absentia. They are accused of being his contacts with the Israeli intelligence service.

During the trial, Ali repeatedly declared his innocence³ and said he was confident he would be acquitted⁴. He looked visibly shocked as police led him out of the courtroom after the verdict. His wife and mother broke down in tears.

Ali is a nuclear engineer who worked at the Inshas nuclear research center, north of Cairo. Prosecutors⁵ say Ali handed the men sensitive documents about Egypt's nuclear capabilities⁶ in exchange for $17,000 while he was living in Saudi Arabia on sabbatical.

Ali acknowledges handing material over to the foreigners, but he says he did so with the blessing⁷ of Egyptian intelligence officials.

He says he contacted a security official at the Egyptian embassy in Riyadh after he became concerned about the nature of the men's requests. He said he was instructed to keep in contact with the men.

He also says he gave them nothing that would compromise Egypt's security. He says the documents he handed over were out-of-date and had already been published on the Internet.

Prosecutors say he only contacted the embassy because he was afraid he was about to be caught.

Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a peace deal with Israel. But since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1979, Egyptian courts have convicted a number of people of spying for Israel. The cases are seen as straining the two countries' relations.

The court ruling in the latest spy case comes as Arab and Israeli officials are meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh in an effort to boost the standing⁸ of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

1 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

2 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

4 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

5 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。

6 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

8 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。