2006年VOA标准英语-British Jury Convicts Muslim Preacher of S

（单词翻译）

By Michael Drudge¹
London
07 February 2006

Supporters clear a path for Abu Hamza al-Masri, center, following Friday prayers in the street outside the Finsbury Park Mosque², in London, Feb. 7, 2003  
  
A British jury has convicted a radical³ Muslim cleric of soliciting⁴ the murder of non-Muslims and a judge has sentenced him to seven years in prison. The man, Abu Hamza al-Masri, is also wanted by the United States on terrorism-related charges.

------------------------------------------

The conviction of al-Masri culminates⁵ years of investigation⁶ into the activities of Britain's most prominent Muslim preacher.

A London jury has found him guilty of 11 counts ranging from solicitation⁷ of murder of non-Muslims to stirring up racial hatred⁸ against Jews and possessing what prosecutors⁹ described as a "terrorist manual."

Until 2003, the Egyptian-born al-Masri was based at the Finsbury Park mosque in north London, a place where suspected al-Qaida-linked terrorists had prayed.
 
 
Finsbury Park mosque in London (file photo) 
  
Among those who attended the mosque are convicted "shoe bomber¹⁰" Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui, who is awaiting sentencing as the so-called "20th hijacker¹¹" in the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

One London-based expert on terrorism, M.J. Gohel of the Asia-Pacific Foundation, says al-Masri has led followers¹² into what he calls "a world of extremism and terrorism."

"He provides the doorway¹³ to the jihadi groups around the world because a number of those al-Qaida-linked terrorists did pass through the Finsbury Park mosque when he used to preach there," he said.

Al-Masri also is wanted in the United States on a number of charges, including the attempted establishment of a terrorist training camp in the northwestern state of Oregon.

His possible extradition¹⁴ to face trial on those charges is now expected to remain suspended while he considers an appeal and serves his sentence in Britain.

The 47-year-old al-Masri is handicapped, having lost his hands and one eye to what he says was a mine-clearing operation when he was supporting anti-Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Other sources say he was injured while building a bomb.

During his trial, al-Masri said the charges against him were politically motivated. His lawyer had argued that al-Masri never intended to incite¹⁵ people to commit specific crimes.