沙特阿拉伯以間諜罪判處十五人死刑
A court in Saudi Arabia handed down death sentences to 15 people Tuesday for spying for Iran, according to reports. Fifteen other suspects were sentenced to jail terms ranging from six months to 25 years while two were acquitted.
據報道，週二沙特的一家法院給15個人下發了死刑判決書因爲他們爲伊朗從事間諜活動。另外15名嫌犯被判6個月到25年不等，還有兩人被判無罪。
The suspects comprised 30 Saudi Shia Muslims, one Iranian and an Afghan. They were detained in 2013 over espionage charges and stood trial in February. Prosecutors accused the suspects of forming a spy ring in collaboration with Iranian intelligence.
嫌犯包括30名沙特什葉派穆斯林，1個伊朗人和1個阿富汗人。他們在2013年因爲間諜罪被逮捕並在二月受審。檢察官指控他們與伊朗情報部門勾結形成間諜團伙.
An elderly university professor, a pediatrician, a banker and two clerics were among those arrested in 2013. Most of the suspects hailed from al-Ahsa, a region in eastern Saudi Arabia home to both Shias and Sunnis.
一個年邁的大學教授，一個兒科醫生，一個銀行家及兩個神職人員在2013年被捕的人當中。嫌犯大多來自al-Ahsa，一個什葉派和遜尼派共同居住的沙特東部地區。
The Shia community, which reportedly makes up about 10 to 15 percent of Saudi Arabia's population, alleges constant discrimination by Saudi officials. However, Riyadh has denied these allegations.
據報道什葉派佔沙特人口的百分之10到15，有人稱這是沙特官員莫須有的歧視，然而利雅得否認了這些指控。
In January, the kingdom cut diplomatic relations with Iran after the Saudi embassy in Tehran was attacked over the execution of the prominent Saudi Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, and three other Shias. Saudi Arabia has maintained that Nimr was among 46 others who were accused of being terrorists or inciting violence against the Saudi royal family.
一月沙特切斷了與伊朗的外交關係後，在德黑蘭的沙特大使館在著名的什葉派教士Sheikh Nimr以及其他三個什葉派的慫恿下遭到了襲擊，沙特方面堅信Nimr在46個被控恐怖主義及煽動暴力對抗沙特王室的人員之中。
Nimr was a well-known critic of the Saudi regime and his execution further soured relations between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the region. Elsewhere in the Middle East, both Iran and Saudi Arabia are involved in a proxy war in Yemen, with the former supporting Houthi rebels looking to overthrow the existing regime supported by Saudi Arabia.
Nimr是一個著名的批評家，批評沙特政權及其行爲進一步惡化了地區中遜尼派和什葉派穆斯林的關係。在中東的其他地方，伊朗及沙特都捲入了在也門的代理人戰爭，前者支持胡塞武裝叛軍意圖推翻現在由沙特支持的政權。
