2007年VOA标准英语-Mauritanian Court Drops Terrorism Charges

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
01 August 2007

In the west African country of Mauritania, a criminal court has dropped terrorism charges against 14 men who had been accused of aiding a group allied¹ to al-Qaida. Phuong Tran has reactions to the court's decision from VOA's West Africa Bureau in Dakar.

In its ruling Tuesday, the criminal court found none of the accused guilty of committing terrorist acts.  But it did find two of the defendants², Tahar Ould Biye and Tiyib Ould Salek, guilty of forgery³.

Defense4 lawyer Limam Mohamed Cheikh" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070804/0931350.jpg" width="172" vspace="2" border="0" />

Limam Mohamed Cheikh

One of the defense lawyers, Limam Mohamed Cheikh, was dismissive of the prosecution⁵'s case. 

Cheikh says the court's decision to pursue charges other than treason shows the prosecution did not have a strong case.

The Islamists' lawyers had claimed the prosecution team's evidence was extracted through torture. Cheikh says the team is appealing the convictions and is prepared to argue claims of torture against Mauritanian security forces.

The lawyer says it will be hard to find men willing to submit formal claims, because he says most Mauritanians do not want to cause problems. He says it is still a tribal⁶ society where relationships are valued, even between accuser and accused.

Mauritania's National Security Director, Mohamed Abdellahi Taleb Abedi, has denied accusations⁷ of torture and says all trial evidence is legally gathered.

The spokesman for the general prosecutor's office in Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott, Moulay Abdellah, says the prosecution team respects the court's decision, but is considering all options.

Abdellah says he cannot yet say whether the team will pursue a more strict punishment, but he says everything is possible and the team is ready to defend its accusations.

The prosecution team had sought the death penalty against two of the 14 defendants and up to 30 years in prison for the others.  They were accused of training with the Salafist Group for Preaching and War, an extremist Algerian organization backed by Osama bin⁸ Laden⁹ and widely regarded as one of the most active and brutal¹⁰.  It is now called the Organization of al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb.

The group claimed responsibility for a 2005 attack on a Mauritanian military base that officials say killed 15, and injured about a dozen others.

1 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

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 forgery   

n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为）

参考例句：

• The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。
• He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。

4 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。

5 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

6 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

9 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

10 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。