VOA标准英语2009年-Iraqi Shoe-Thrower Sentenced to Three Years in

The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former U.S. President George W. Bush during a farewell visit to Baghdad has been sentenced by an Iraqi court to three years in prison.
　
Muntader al-Zaidi (File)

The trial of Iraqi journalist Muntader al-Zaidi, who shot to fame after flinging his shoes at former President George Bush during a press conference last December in Baghdad, ended with a relatively¹ light three-year sentence.

Fans of al-Zaidi reportedly swarmed² the vicinity of the court-house, shouting slogans in his favor and decrying³ the Iraqi government. Several close family members called the prosecutors⁴ "sons of dogs."

The Iraqi authorities, apparently⁵ aware of the publicity⁶ the case has drawn⁷ in the Arab and international media, gave as little media coverage⁸ of the trial as possible.

When asked if he was innocent, the 30-year old journalist for Al Baghdadia satellite channel told Judge Abd al Amir Hassan al-Rubaie that he believed he was, because he reacted "just as any Iraqi would have."

The head of al-Zaidi's defense⁹ team, attorney Dhia al-Sa'adi, told al Baghdadiya TV the sentence was harsh and insisted that he would appeal the decision.

The punishment, he says, in accordance with the statute¹⁰ he was charged under was three years. The defense team considers that punishment harsh, and feels that it does not really correspond with what Muntader al-Zaidi did. Therefore, he stresses, we will appeal the decision to the appellate court within the appropriate time-frame.

Members of al-Zaidi's 25-member defense team had asked for the charges to be dismissed, arguing President Bush was never in danger.

Al-Zaidi missed Mr. Bush when he threw both shoes on December 15, during a press conference with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Hadi al-Marai, who head Iraq's Press Freedom and Observation center says the outcome could have been worse.

The press and other sources, he notes, speculated that the sentence could have been seven years or more, so three years is not all that bad. But, he says, we cannot accept that an Iraqi reporter be treated like this, especially since we are a fledgling democracy.

Al-Zaidi was jailed after the December shoe-throwing incident. A previous sentencing hearing was postponed¹¹. The Arab press has called him as a "hero" and several admirers have even offered to betroth¹² their daughters to him, as a reward for his "courage."

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

3 decrying   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Soon Chinese Internet users, including government agencies, were decrying the' poisonous panda. 不久，中国网民以及政府机构纷纷谴责“影响极坏的熊猫烧香”。 来自互联网
• Democratic leaders are decrying President Bush's plan to indefinitely halt troop withdrawals from Iraq after July. 民主党领导公开谴责布什总统七月后无限停止从伊拉克撤兵的举动。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

7 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。

8 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

9 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。

10 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

11 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

12 betroth   

v.订婚

参考例句：

• She is betrothed to John.她同约翰订了婚。
• Her father betrothed her to him at an early age.她父亲在她年幼时已把她许配给他。