刑诉法修正案草案:禁止强迫嫌犯自证其罪

Criminal suspects are now protected from self-incrimination. This is one of the changes which appears in a draft amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law discussed by the country's top legislators.
犯罪嫌疑人现在受到自证其罪的保护。这是国家最高立法委员讨论通过的刑事诉讼法修正案(草案)中出现的一大改变。

Zhao Zuohai, a 57 year old resident in Henan Province, was wrongfully convicted of the murder of a fellow villager in 1999. He was tortured by police in order to extort a guilty confession and when news of this was made public, it astounded the entire country.
57岁的湖南居民赵作海1999年被误判谋杀了一名老乡。他被警方屈打成招，当这条新闻向大众公开的时候，全国都震惊了。

Zhao has since received compensation by the government. But his case is not unique. To correct this situation, the top legislature started to study these draft amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law on Wednesday at its bimonthly session.
赵作海因此获得政府的赔偿金。但是他的案子并不是个案。为了纠正这种情况，最高立法机关周三在其两个月举行一次的会议上对刑事诉讼法修正案(草案)进行研究。

Forced self-incrimination will be strictly prohibited. In fact, extorting confessions by torture is already prohibited but the changes made this time clearly state that a suspect's rights must be protected.
强迫自证其罪将被严令禁止。事实上，严刑逼供已经被禁止了，但是这次所做的改变明确规定，嫌疑人的权利必须受到保护。

Rules for the testimonies of the suspects' close relatives will also be amended. Soon, unless the case can endanger state security and public interest, the parents, children and spouses of the suspects can refuse to testify.
关于嫌疑人近亲作证的规定也将修改。很快地，除非案子危机到国家安全和公共利益，嫌疑人的父母、孩子和配偶可以决绝作证。

These two key points are seen as the most important changes in the amendments discussed. Other changes to the law include ensuring the right for a fair defense and allowing more government departments to monitor proceedings.
这两个要点被认为是本次讨论的修正案中最重要的改变。刑事诉讼法的其它改变包括确保公平辩护权的落实以及允许更多的政府部门监听诉讼。