VOA标准英语2009年-US Diplomat's Killers to Hang for Murder i

By Maram Mazen
Khartoum
12 October 2009
 
Three of four Islamists (excluding man in center) accused in 2008 killing¹ of US diplomat² and his Sudanese driver, raise their hands and shout slogans as they walk out of Sudanese court (June 2009) 
A court in Sudan has upheld the death sentence of four Islamists convicted in June of killing an American diplomat and his Sudanese driver in January 2008. The diplomat's mother in the United States had asked the court to uphold the previous ruling.

Four Islamists, convicted of killing American diplomat John Granville last year in the Sudanese capital, were sentenced to death by hanging after a court upheld their death sentences.

Judge Sayed Ahmed Al-Badry recited quotes from Islamic texts denouncing killing Muslims and non-Muslims. He said it is a great sin to take another person's life. After the judge announced his verdict, the men called Granville an "infidel" and said Muslims should not be executed for killing non-believers.

Granville, who was working for the U.S. Agency for International Development, was killed with his Sudanese driver, Abdel Rahman Abbas. The two men were shot in the early hours of 2008 after a New Year's Eve Party.

The death sentence for the four convicted men was originally passed in June. But under Sudan's Islamic law, the family of a murder victim can request the death penalty for those convicted, forgive them, or ask for compensation. According to media reports, some members of Abbas' family had pardoned the killers³.
 
But on Sunday, a letter from Granville's mother in the United States was read out to the court in which she specified⁴ that she wanted the four men to be executed.

Granville's lawyer, Taha Ibrahim, says the court has made a just ruling.

"Her wish was to apply death by retribution and the court accordingly passed death sentence by hanging," Ibrahim said. "It is the legal sentence, it is proper, it is according to the law and it will be executed."

The four men have maintained their innocence⁵, saying they had been convicted in a political trial and that their videotaped confessions⁶ were extracted under torture. They have 15 days to appeal the verdict.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

4 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。

5 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

6 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》