BBC news 2014-07-02

Three al-Jazeera journalists accused of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood have been jailed for seven years in Egypt. A court in Cairo convicted Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed of spreading false news and supporting the now banned Islamist group. The trio had denied the charges.

Nine defendants tried in absentia, including three foreign journalists, received ten-year sentences. The trial has caused an international outcry amid claims it is politicized. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told reporters on Monday she was bitterly disappointed by the outcome. "I simply can not understand how a court could come to this conclusion," she said.

Correspondents say evidence put forward earlier in court did nothing to support the serious charges brought. The judge was shown in photograph from Mr. Greste's family holiday, a Sky Radio report on cruelty to horses and a video of a press conference in Nairobi.

"The three al-Jazeera journalists, you have been detained in Egypt for the past six months, while each sentenced to seven years in jail. Mr. Mohamed is sentenced to a further three years in jail on a separate charge involving possession of weapons," in a statement, al-Jazeera English's managing director al-Anstey said the sentence defied logic, sense, and any semblance of justice.

The three men are expected to appeal. Al-Jazeera has said only nine of the 20 defendants are its employees. The others are reportedly students and activists, two of whom were acquitted in Monday's verdict. It comes amid concerns over growing media restrictions in Egypt.

Mr. Greste's brother Andrew Greste said he was surprised by verdict, and that he had been ensured all along by the authorities that the Egyptian judiciary is independent.

词汇解释

1.convict vt.宣判有罪;证明…有罪

I have all the evidence necessary to convict this young criminal now.

我掌握一切必要的证据来给这个年轻犯人定罪。

2.absentia n. 缺席;缺席的情况下

He was tried in absentia and sentenced to seven years in prison.

他被缺席判处七年监禁。

3.outcry n. 强烈抗议

The killing caused an international outcry.

这起谋杀引起了国际社会的强烈抗议。

4.outcome n. 结果;成果

Bankers are keeping a wary eye on the outcome.

银行家们对结果保持高度警惕。

5.defy vt. 不服从;公然反抗;蔑视

I wouldn't have dared to defy my teachers.

我可不敢不听老师的话。

6.acquit v. 宣判无罪

Mr Ling was acquitted of disorderly behaviour by magistrates.

地方法官宣判林先生扰乱治安罪名不成立。

内容解析

1.I simply can not understand how a court could come to this conclusion.

come to conclusion得出结论

I've come to the conclusion that he's not the right person for the job.

我断定他不适合做这项工作。

2.Correspondents say evidence put forward earlier in court did nothing to support the serious charges brought.

put forward提出

He has put forward new peace proposals.

他提出了新的和平建议。

参考译文

被指控支持穆斯林兄弟会的三名半岛电视台记者在埃及被判处七年监禁。开罗一家法庭判决皮特·格雷斯特(Peter Greste)，法赫米(Mohamed Fahmy)及穆罕默德(Baher Mohamed)传播假新闻，支持现在被禁的伊斯兰组织罪名成立。三名被告均否认了控罪。

包括三名外国记者在内的九名被告被缺席审判，被判处十年监禁。该审判引起了国际社会公愤，认为审判被政治化。澳大利亚外长毕晓普(Julie Bishop)于周一告诉记者，她对该结果感到非常失望。“我完全不能理解法庭如何得出这个结论。”她说。

记者表示，此前递交法庭的证据完全难以支撑如此严重的控罪。法官查看了格雷斯特一家度假的照片，天空广播关于虐待马匹的报道和内罗毕一场新闻发布会的视频。

“过去六个月一直被关押在埃及的三名半岛电视台记者每人被判处七年监禁。穆罕默德还因持有武器另外被判处三年监禁。”在一份声明中，半岛电视台英文频道总经理表示，该判决完全无视逻辑，常识和正义。

预期这三人将会上诉。半岛电视台表示，20名被告中只有9人是他们的雇员。据报道其他人是学生和积极分子，其中两人在周一的判决中被判无罪。这导致人们担忧埃及越来越严重的媒体限制。

格雷斯特的兄弟安德鲁·格雷斯特表示，他对该判决感到惊讶，过去当局一直让他确信埃及司法系统是独立的。