VOA标准英语2013--Secret Monitoring Clouds 9/11 Proceedings

 

Secret Monitoring Clouds 9/11 Proceedings¹

It was a bizarre twist in a case that has dragged on for years after the September 11 attacks in the effort to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other accused co-conspirators to justice.

Prosecutors³ were working to portray⁴ the proceedings as fair and transparent⁵, but that was called into question for some when the judge, Colonel James Pohl, discovered this week that someone in the U.S. government was monitoring the proceedings on Tuesday and - for two minutes - cut off an audio feed to journalists and observers. It happened as a defense⁶ attorney was talking about black sites, or secret U.S. prisons where the defendants⁷ allege⁸ they were tortured. The line has a 40-second delay designed to prevent the leak of classified information.

The judge on Thursday ordered that switches controlled by outside censors⁹ be disconnected.

The attorney, David Nevin, on Thursday expressed concern that someone other than the judge had that power over the proceedings.

"Why is it that coming up on five years into this [that] not even the judge is aware of who's listening and who has the authority and the ability to shut it down so that you can't hear it? So that not one more word after right now, when I've decided¹⁰ you've all heard enough, not one more word gets heard. What kind of a system is that?" he asked.

Officials did not identify the agency that was monitoring court proceedings.

The men, in some cases, have been held for nearly 10 years, and the U.S. government wants them tried as soon as possible.

Action on several motions has been pushed back, and chief prosecutor², Army Brigadier General Mark Martins, says there are lengthier¹¹ and more difficult issues to solve before a trial date can be set. 

“And although it is wearying, it's necessary that we do this. That as we move toward judgment¹², we do it in a way that is in accordance with our values. That's what we're going to do. That's what we all swear an oath to do and that's what we will do," he said.

The incident has reignited the debate among some victims' family members on whether the trial should be here at Guantanamo Bay or moved to a federal civilian¹³ court in the United States. With a law banning the transfer of the prisoners to the U.S., that is for now a moot¹⁴ point. 

1 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

2 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

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 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

5 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

6 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。

7 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

8 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

9 censors   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The censors eviscerated the book to make it inoffensive to the President. 审查员删去了该书的精华以取悦于总统。
• The censors let out not a word. 检察官一字也不发。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 lengthier   

adj.长的，漫长的，啰嗦的( lengthy的比较级 )

参考例句：

12 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

13 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。

14 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。