沙特阿拉伯以间谍罪判处十五人死刑
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.
据报道，周二沙特的一家法院给15个人下发了死刑判决书因为他们为伊朗从事间谍活动。另外15名嫌犯被判6个月到25年不等，还有两人被判无罪。
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名沙特什叶派穆斯林，1个伊朗人和1个阿富汗人。他们在2013年因为间谍罪被逮捕并在二月受审。检察官指控他们与伊朗情报部门勾结形成间谍团伙.
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.
一个年迈的大学教授，一个儿科医生，一个银行家及两个神职人员在2013年被捕的人当中。嫌犯大多来自al-Ahsa，一个什叶派和逊尼派共同居住的沙特东部地区。
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.
据报道什叶派占沙特人口的百分之10到15，有人称这是沙特官员莫须有的歧视，然而利雅得否认了这些指控。
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.
一月沙特切断了与伊朗的外交关系后，在德黑兰的沙特大使馆在著名的什叶派教士Sheikh Nimr以及其他三个什叶派的怂恿下遭到了袭击，沙特方面坚信Nimr在46个被控恐怖主义及煽动暴力对抗沙特王室的人员之中。
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是一个著名的批评家，批评沙特政权及其行为进一步恶化了地区中逊尼派和什叶派穆斯林的关系。在中东的其他地方，伊朗及沙特都卷入了在也门的代理人战争，前者支持胡塞武装叛军意图推翻现在由沙特支持的政权。
