The main suspect in the mass killing¹ of 57 people in the southern Philippines, Andal Ampatuan Junior, has pleaded not guilty to 41 counts of murder.

菲律宾南部57人大屠杀的主嫌疑犯Andal Ampatuan Junior否认41项谋杀指控。

Andal Ampatuan Jnr faces multiple murder charges, which he denies

Mr Ampatuan is part of a politically influential² clan³宗族，部落 which has close ties to President Gloria Arroyo⁴.

He denies multiple charges of murder over November's attack, in which members of a rival political family and journalists travelling with them died.

They were on their way to register a rival candidacy候选资格 for local elections.

Prosecutors⁵ say Mr Ampatuan led more than 100 armed men who stopped the convoy⁶护送，护卫 in which the group was travelling, then killed them and buried them in mass graves.

His father and several other clan members have been charged with rebellion.

'Test for judiciary'

Mr Ampatuan was guarded by more than 30 heavily armed police as he attended court in the capital, Manila, on Tuesday.

At an earlier, preliminary trial hearing, he was jostled推挤，撞, harangued⁷大声训斥 and hit by an angry crowd of journalists, upset by the large number of colleagues, thought to be at least 30, whose lives were lost in the mass killing.

The judge adjourned推迟，中止 the trial until next week to allow for a dozen witnesses to be called to support a bail⁹ application.

The BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok says the trial is likely to be long and convoluted¹⁰复杂的，费解的 and is widely being seen as a test of the Philippines justice system.

The Ampatuan clan were once loyal supporters of President Arroyo, our correspondent says, and so proceedings¹¹ are likely to be scrutinised仔细检查 for any sign of leniency宽大，仁慈.

Andal Ampatuan Jr remains¹² the only suspect charged in direct connection with the mass killings¹³ which shocked the nation, she adds.

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group alleged¹⁴ last month that Mrs Arroyo was partly to blame for the massacre¹⁵ because she had allowed a "local despot暴君，独裁者 to indulge满足，纵容 his greed and ambition野心，抱负".

Mrs Arroyo imposed martial¹⁶ law戒严 for a period following the massacre and vowed¹⁷ to bring those responsible to justice.