09-28-07

緬保安軍驅散示威者 (Burmese Security Forces Disperse Protesters)

緬甸保安部隊在仰光再次使用槍彈驅散數以百計的反政府示威民眾。目擊者說，一些示威者星期五聚集在大金塔附近，那裏已經成為抗議中心。一名示威者通過電話對美國之音說，警察和軍人對示威人權動用了真槍實彈和警棍。目前還沒有傷亡人數的報導。

星期四，緬甸軍政府表示，當局試圖驅散數萬抗議者時，安全部隊打死了9人，打傷了11人。死者當中包括一名日本記者。有未經證實的報導說，一名佛教僧侶被打死。

最近幾天，安全部隊一直在查抄佛教寺院，拘捕被指控煽動最近示威行動的僧侶。緬甸居民說，當局加緊壓制，切斷了互聯網連接。

Burmese security forces have again used gunfire to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters in Rangoon. Witnesses say that some of the demonstrators gathered Friday near the Sule Pagoda, which has been a focal point of the protests. One protester told VOA by telephone that police and soldiers used live ammunition and batons against the crowd. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

On Thursday, Burma's military government said its security forces killed nine people and wounded 11 others as authorities tried to disperse tens of thousands of protesters. A Japanese journalist was among the dead, and there are unconfirmed reports that another Buddhist monk was killed.

In recent days, security forces have been raiding Buddhist monasteries and detaining monks accused of instigating the recent demonstrations. In a further attempt to clamp down, residents say Burmese authorities have cut off Internet access.

美最高法院暫緩德州執行死刑 (US Supreme Court Stays Texas Execution)

美國最高法院命令德克薩斯州暫緩對一名死刑犯執行死刑。這是最高法院在這個星期裏作出的第二個有關死刑的重大裁決。最高法院星期四作出裁決的時候，現年28歲的卡爾頓.特納還有幾個小時就要被注射毒劑處死。特納在1988年謀殺了自己的雙親。特納的律師爭辯說，注射毒劑處死的刑法不符合憲法有關禁止殘酷和異常處罰的禁令。

星期二，最高法院同意審理肯塔基州兩名死囚提出的上訴。這兩名死囚的上訴說，肯塔基州用三種藥劑處死人的過程造成不必要的痛苦。這些針劑首先使人失去知覺、全身麻痹、最後停止心跳。人權人士爭辯說，在毒劑起作用的過程中，有時犯人雖然不能動，但是能夠感受到疼痛。德克薩斯州實施死刑的程式和肯塔基州一樣。

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a stay of execution for a condemned inmate in Texas - the court's second major decision on capital punishment this week. The high court's decision Thursday came hours before 28-year-old Carlton Turner, Junior was to have been put to death by lethal injection for the 1998 murder of his parents. Turner's lawyers argued that the process violates a constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court agreed to consider an appeal by two condemned men in Kentucky, who argue the state's three-drug execution process inflicts unnecessary pain and suffering. The drugs render the prisoner unconscious, paralyze the body, and eventually stop the heart. Human rights advocates argue that, in some cases, the inmate cannot move, but can feel pain as the poisons take effect. Texas uses the same excution procedure as Kentucky.