VOA标准英语2010年-Plotters Jailed for Australian Terror

（单词翻译）

New South Wales Supreme¹ Court judge Justice Anthony Whealy in Parramatta Court, west of Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008. (file)

Five men convicted of a terrorist conspiracy² in Australia's biggest city, Sydney, have been given jail sentences of 23 to 28 years. The men were found guilty late last year of charges that included possessing bomb-making instructions and explosive chemicals. 
 
Prosecutors³ argued the five men were planning terrorist attacks to protest Australia's military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. The New South Wales Supreme Court heard evidence that the group had stockpiled chemicals, weapons and ammunition⁴. The men, all Australian Muslims, were convicted of conspiring⁵ to commit a terrorist act last October at the end of the country's longest terrorism trial. Hundreds of witnesses testified.
 
In handing down the sentence Monday, Justice Anthony Whealy said the men were motivated by an "intolerant, inflexible⁶ religious conviction", and had hoarded⁷ documents that glorified⁸ Osama Bin⁹ Laden¹⁰ and promoted violent jihad.
 
"Each offender¹¹ had at his home, in one form or another, a vast quantity of extremist or fundamentalist material,” said the judge. “There are images showing injured or deceased Muslim civilians¹² and/or soldiers. The images were clearly designed to evoke¹³ sympathy and distress¹⁴ from Muslim viewers."
 
The group's alleged¹⁵ target has never been made public, although court documents suggested they had discussed killing¹⁶ former Australian Prime Minister John Howard or bombing a major sporting event.
 
Investigators¹⁷ say one defendant¹⁸ attended a militant¹⁹ training camp in Pakistan, while three others set up a paramilitary hideaway in the Australian outback.
 
The men had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Under a court order, their names cannot be released.
 
Outside the court, one of the men's sisters said the group had been unfairly victimized by Australia's security services. "You know that the only judge that matters is God and he knows of your innocence²⁰ and one day they will meet him face to face knowing the treatment of him is a disgrace," she said.
 
The five were arrested in 2005 followed tip-offs from hardware store and gun shop owners. Their lawyers have yet to decide whether to file an appeal. Under Australian law, the men could be freed on parole in 17 to 21 years.