VOA慢速英语2015 各国政府使用互联网来实施亵渎法

 

AS IT IS 2015-01-16 Governments Use the Internet to Enforce Blasphemy¹ Laws 各国政府使用互联网来实施亵渎法

Many governments are taking steps to aggressively punish crimes against organized religion. Most notably², in majority Muslim nations, government officials are turning to anti-blasphemy laws to stop reported violations³, especially against Islam. The violators are accused of blasphemy -- showing disrespect to God or to something considered holy.

In the past, blasphemy charges were brought against people for what they said in public. But now, observers say, governments are turning their attention to what people say or do while on the Internet or social media.

Peter Henne is with the Pew Research Center. He says 22 percent of governments have some form of anti-blasphemy laws. This includes at least one nation on every continent. 

“Seventy percent of the nations that have anti-blasphemy laws are located in the Middle East or North Africa,” he says. “Fourteen of the 20 nations in that region criminalize blasphemy.” But they are not the only ones.

Peter Henne says Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Indonesia are among the nations that take action in blasphemy cases most aggressively.

The Pew study did not exactly follow the sentences announced in each nation. But, in general, the severity of the punishment differed widely, from house arrest to life in prison or even death.

Saudi case

Raif Badawi is a 30-year-old blogger and Saudi citizen who launched the “Free Saudi Liberals” website. He wanted to have discussions about religion and Saudi religious leaders. He was found guilty of insulting Islam.

His punishment was a sentence of 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes⁴, also known as flogging. For 20 weeks, he is to be hit 50 times with a cane⁵, or stick. His first public flogging, on January 9th, reportedly lasted about 15 minutes.

U.S. State Department official Jen Psaki says the punishment is “inhumane” and has called on Saudi Arabia to cancel his punishment. The Saudi government denounced the attack on workers at the French publication Charlie Hebdo over the issue of blasphemy. But it has shown no signs of changing the sentence of Raif Badawi.

More stories like his are becoming more common across large parts of the Middle East and North Africa. For example, in 2013 Kuwaiti blogger Hamad al-Naqi was found guilty of insulting the Prophet Muhammad while making comments on Twitter. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. In Mauritius, a blogger named Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed was sentenced to death after being found guilty of insulting Islam and rejecting Islam. In Pakistan alone, more than 30 people have been sentenced to death or life in prison for blasphemous⁶ acts, either online or in person.

Observers estimate that around the world, at least 50 people are now in prison or facing death sentences for violating such laws.

Online scrutiny⁷

And as Internet use spreads, so too do trials based on people’s online activities.

Philip Luther is director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Amnesty International. In his words, “The web has made it easier for governments to prosecute⁸ people.” Part of that, he says, is because online comments and social media posts live forever. They never go away.

Amnesty International has criticized Raif Badawi’s trial. The group has called his sentence “a vicious act of cruelty” and, like the United States, is urging the government there to stop his punishment.

Philip Luther says the Saudi man has “done nothing more than express his views peacefully, and he should be released immediately and his sentence” over-turned.

Mr. Luther points to several nations as leading offenders⁹, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Iran and Indonesia. He notes a big increase in use of blasphemy laws in Indonesia over the past 10 years. Only some of those 100 cases in Indonesia come from Internet use.

Mr. Luther says a growing number of government officials are using the World Wide Web and social media to gather evidence for possible charges. He says in Iran a man was sentenced to death last year for Facebook posts insulting the prophet of Islam.

And in Egypt, both Muslims and Christians¹⁰ have been prosecuted¹¹ for not respecting religion online.

Words in this Story

blasphemy – n. great disrespect shown to God or to something holy

aggressively – adv. using forceful methods to succeed or do something

criminalize – v. to make (something) illegal

flogging – v. to beat or whip (someone) severely¹²

prosecute – v. to hold a trial against a person who is accused of a crime to see if that person is guilty

1 blasphemy   

n.亵渎，渎神

参考例句：

• His writings were branded as obscene and a blasphemy against God.他的著作被定为淫秽作品，是对上帝的亵渎。
• You have just heard his blasphemy!你刚刚听到他那番亵渎上帝的话了！

2 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

3 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

4 lashes   

n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• Mother always lashes out food for the children's party. 孩子们聚会时，母亲总是给他们许多吃的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Never walk behind a horse in case it lashes out. 绝对不要跟在马后面，以防它突然猛踢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

6 blasphemous   

adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的

参考例句：

• The book was declared blasphemous and all copies ordered to be burnt.这本书被断定为亵渎神明之作，命令全数焚毀。
• The people in the room were shocked by his blasphemous language.满屋的人都对他那侮慢的语言感到愤慨。

7 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

8 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

9 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

10 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

11 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

12 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。