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Professor's acquittal over indecent photos upheld |
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2004.09.17 / Taiwan News / The ruling was a victory for Josephine Ho, an English professor at National Central University, who was originally acquitted of the charges by the Taipei District Court on June 25. The High Cour's panel of judges stood by the district courts ruling, which said Ho's introduction of Internet links to the pictures was likely to be part of her academic research on sexuality. 台北地方法院原先在六月二十五日宣告中央大學英文系教授何春蕤無罪,昨日的判決對她而言無疑是個勝利。高等法院的陪審團支持台北地方法院的判決,認為何春蕤在網路上提供這些照片的連結,應該是作為她性學研究的一部份。 In the original case, prosecutors argued that the professor had violated Article 235 of the Criminal Law by posting on the NCU Sex-Pol Center's Web site a hyperlink to a foreign Web site that showed detailed pictures of bestiality. The district ruling also noted that Ho posted the link in a section of the NCU center's Web site called erspective and discussionwhere information about sexuality was routinely posted for academic study. It was therefore hard to conclude that the photos constituted obscenity, in accordance with the Council of Grand Justices?Constitutional Interpretation No. 407, the ruling stated.
「我希望社會大眾都能正視看待這個案件,思索這個案子背後的真正意義。」何春蕤昨天早上在法院外回答記者問題時說。
She was indicted last December on the charge of circulating indecent photos, in violation of the same article that prohibits the distribution, sale, and display of indecent prose, drawings and other pornographic works. The indictment was brought after some educators and women's groups accused the university professor of abusing academic freedom by posting the controversial photos on her academic Web site. The accusations sparked a debate over the fine line between pornography and academic research. Ho was director of the Sex-Pol Center at the time. She asserted that because intercourse between human beings and animals in fact exists, it is therefore worth researching. |