全球3.5萬人定罪 反恐法引爭議

照片

全球3.5萬人定罪 反恐法引爭議

編譯中心綜合3日電 世界新聞網 September 04, 2011

美聯社3日公布一項資料顯示，九一一事件至今十年以來，全世界至少有3萬5000人被以恐嫌定罪，儘管其中許多人因發動炸彈攻擊被捕，但也有人因政治立場不同或鼓吹示威抗議，而遭羅織入獄。而美國也因對恐怖活動的定義寬鬆廣泛，致使聯邦法庭針對恐嫌案件的定罪比率過高，定罪率高達90%，而因此遭到質疑。

這項首次針對全球反恐和定罪的統計資料顯示，許多國家在制定更嚴厲或新的反恐法律後，被起訴的人數大增，這些反恐法律大多受到西方國家的支持和協助。而在九一一事件之前，全世界每年只有幾百人因涉嫌恐怖主義被定罪。

由定罪人數的驟增，以及將近有12萬人遭逮捕的數據顯示，全球對恐怖主義的強烈警覺已融入社會之中，而且反恐戰場已逐漸轉移至法庭。

美聯社報導，在66個國家中，共有11萬9044名恐嫌被捕，其中有3萬5117人被定罪。報導指出，由於部分國家拒絕提供資料，因此實際數字無疑應會更多。

不過，這些資料也顯示，有幾十個國家打著反恐的旗幟，乘機掃除政治上的異議人士。

另外，美聯社在檢視聯邦政府檔案，以及訪問多位檢察官和被告律師後發現，過去十年聯邦法庭審理的重大恐怖主義案件，有九成獲得成功起訴，亦即近200件最嚴重的恐嫌案件中，約178件被定罪。

專家指出，恐嫌被定罪的比率，約與毒梟和銀行搶犯相當，但最重要的差別在於這種定罪是「先發制人」，而非「事後懲罰」。

許多恐嫌案的被告因觸犯反恐法明定禁止提供恐怖組織「物資援助」，而遭起訴。喬治城大學法學教授柯爾(David Cole) 說：「反恐法的範圍讓該法可輕易讓人入罪。」

批評人士指出，該法條文模糊，亦會懲罰言論自由，以及合法的慈善援助，但聯邦最高法院已裁定，反恐法並未違憲。

911 全球反恐3.5萬人定罪 
  
時間：2011/9/5 05:23

撰稿‧編輯：吳寧康 　　新聞引據： 中央社

美國911恐怖攻擊至今10年當中，全球至少有3萬5千人遭各國政府，依從事恐怖活動罪名定罪。
　　
在這些人之中，有的是因為以炸彈攻擊飯店或公車而入獄；但也有一些人只是揮舞政治標語、或是寫部落格進行抗議，便遭到判刑。
　　
美聯社蒐集到的資料顯示，911恐怖攻擊後，世界各國紛紛重新制訂或修正反恐法，導致依相關罪名起訴的案件大大增加。這些新法通常是在西方國家的要求或資助下通過的。911之前，每年只有大約數百人依恐怖罪名遭定罪。
　　
這是歷來第一份統計全球反恐逮捕人數、和定罪件數的分析報告。定罪件數龐大，加上被捕人數也接近12萬之多，足可顯示全球反恐意識高漲、以及反恐戰爭如何轉戰到司法系統。甚至有數十個國家以反恐之名，來壓制政治異議人士。
　　
美聯社全球記者調查後得到的統計資料顯示，66個國家10年來共有11萬9,044人被捕，最後有3萬5,117人遭定罪。實際人數必定更多，因為部分國家拒絕提供相關資料。
　　
其中美國共2,934人被捕、2,568人定罪，人數是911之前同期的8倍之多。美國是全球反恐戰爭的領導者。
　　
調查顯示，半數以上的定罪案件，來自2個公認利用反恐法鉗制異議人士的國家－中國大陸和土耳其。而單是土耳其的定罪件數便高達1萬2,897件，占了總數的三分之一。
　　
不同國家以不同方式定義恐怖分子，下獄者遭定罪的罪名也就不盡相同。中國大陸依自己所定義的恐怖罪名總共逮捕7千多人。中國大陸將恐怖主義連同分離主義和極端主義，一起列為「3股邪惡勢力」。

35000 terror convictions worldwide since 9/11

At least 35,000 people worldwide have been convicted as terrorists in the decade since the September 11 attacks on the United States.

But while some bombed hotels or blew up buses, others were put behind bars for waving a political sign or blogging about a protest.

In the first tally ever done of global anti-terror arrests and convictions, The Associated Press documented a surge in prosecutions under new or toughened anti-terror laws, often passed at the urging and with the funding of the West. Before 9/11, just a few hundred people were convicted of terrorism each year.

The sheer volume of convictions, along with almost 120,000 arrests, shows how a keen global awareness of terrorism has seeped into societies, and how the war against it is shifting to the courts. But it also suggests that dozens of countries are using the fight against terrorism to curb political dissent.

The AP used freedom of information queries, law enforcement data and hundreds of interviews to identify 119,044 anti-terror arrests and 35,117 convictions in 66 countries, accounting for 70 per cent of the world's population. The actual numbers undoubtedly run higher because some countries refused to provide information.

That included 2934 arrests and 2568 convictions in the United States, which led the war on terror - eight times more than in the decade before.

The investigation also showed:

- More than half the convictions came from two countries accused of using anti-terror laws to crack down on dissent, Turkey and China. Turkey alone accounted for a third of all convictions, with 12,897.

- The range of people in jail reflects the dozens of ways different countries define a terrorist. China has arrested more than 7000 people under a definition that counts terrorism as one of Three Evils, along with separatism and extremism.

- The effectiveness of anti-terror prosecutions varies widely. Pakistan registered the steepest increase in terror arrests in recent years, yet terror attacks are still on the rise. But in Spain, the armed Basque separatist group ETA has not planted a fatal bomb in two years.

- Anti-terror laws can backfire. Authoritarian governments in the Middle East used anti-terror laws broadly, only to face a backlash in the Arab Spring.

"There's been a recognition all around the world that terrorism really does pose a greater threat to society," said John Bellinger, former legal adviser to the US State Department. "Also, more authoritarian countries are using the real threat of terrorism as an excuse and a cover to crack down in ways that are abusive of human rights."

Ad Feedback  Since 9/11, almost every country in the world has passed or revised anti-terror laws, from tiny Tonga to giant China.

Turkey, long at odds with its Kurdish minority, tops all other countries AP could tally for anti-terror convictions and their steep rise. The Kurdistan Workers' Party is responsible for much of the violence in the country of 75 million.

Naciye Tokova, a Kurdish mother of two, held up a sign at a protest last year that said, "Either a free leadership and free identity, or resistance and revenge until the end." She couldn't read the sign, because she cannot read.

She was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison under anti-terror laws.

"Of course, I'm not a terrorist," said Tokova, who is free on appeal. She was defiant, replying curtly to questions after long pauses.

Turkey passed new and stricter anti-terror laws in 2006. Convictions shot up from 273 in 2005 to 6345 in 2009, the latest year available, according to data AP got through Turkey's right to information law.

Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, says the country is fair to its Kurds.

"We have never compromised on the balance between security and freedom," Erdogan said.

Turkey clearly reflects the saying that one person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter. What makes a terrorist depends on where you are and whom you ask. In the US, the FBI, the CIA, the Defence Department and the State Department don't agree on what terrorism is.

"If anything should have revealed to the world the essence of unacceptable terrorism, it was 9/11. Unfortunately, a decade later, we seem no closer to reaching agreement," said law professor Kent Roach at the University of Toronto.

China considers terrorism part of a vague charge of "endangering state security," and calls strong laws necessary to ensure safety. The people arrested under the laws come mostly from Xinji