09-28-07

缅保安军驱散示威者 (Burmese Security Forces Disperse Protesters)

缅甸保安部队在仰光再次使用枪弹驱散数以百计的反政府示威民众。目击者说，一些示威者星期五聚集在大金塔附近，那里已经成为抗议中心。一名示威者通过电话对美国之音说，警察和军人对示威人权动用了真枪实弹和警棍。目前还没有伤亡人数的报导。

星期四，缅甸军政府表示，当局试图驱散数万抗议者时，安全部队打死了9人，打伤了11人。死者当中包括一名日本记者。有未经证实的报导说，一名佛教僧侣被打死。

最近几天，安全部队一直在查抄佛教寺院，拘捕被指控煽动最近示威行动的僧侣。缅甸居民说，当局加紧压制，切断了互联网连接。

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.

美最高法院暂缓德州执行死刑 (US Supreme Court Stays Texas Execution)

美国最高法院命令德克萨斯州暂缓对一名死刑犯执行死刑。这是最高法院在这个星期里作出的第二个有关死刑的重大裁决。最高法院星期四作出裁决的时候，现年28岁的卡尔顿.特纳还有几个小时就要被注射毒剂处死。特纳在1988年谋杀了自己的双亲。特纳的律师争辩说，注射毒剂处死的刑法不符合宪法有关禁止残酷和异常处罚的禁令。

星期二，最高法院同意审理肯塔基州两名死囚提出的上诉。这两名死囚的上诉说，肯塔基州用三种药剂处死人的过程造成不必要的痛苦。这些针剂首先使人失去知觉、全身麻痹、最后停止心跳。人权人士争辩说，在毒剂起作用的过程中，有时犯人虽然不能动，但是能够感受到疼痛。德克萨斯州实施死刑的程序和肯塔基州一样。

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.