An orangutan held in an Argentine zoo can be freed and transferred to a sanctuary after a court recognized the ape as a "non-human person" unlawfully deprived of its freedom, local media reported on Sunday.

阿根廷當地媒體周日報道，阿根廷一家法院認為當地動物園內的一只猩猩被非法剝奪了自由權，并判定這只猩猩為“非人類人”，它可獲得自由并轉移至避難所。

Animal rights campaigners filed a habeas corpus petition - a document more typically used to challenge the legality of a person's detention or imprisonment - in November on behalf of Sandra, a 29-year-old Sumatran orangutan at the Buenos Aires zoo.

29歲的桑德拉是布宜諾斯艾利斯動物園內的一只蘇門答臘猩猩。今年11月份，動物權利倡導者代表桑德拉提交了一份人身保護請愿書，這是專門用于挑戰人身拘留或監禁合法性的文件。

In a landmark ruling that could pave the way for more lawsuits, the Association of Officials and Lawyers for Animal Rights (AFADA) argued the ape had sufficient cognitive functions and should not be treated as an object.

這一判決有里程碑式的意義，且可為更多訴訟鋪平道路。動物權利和官員律師協會在訴訟中表示，猿類具有足夠的認知能力，不應被當做物品來對待。

The court agreed Sandra, born into captivity in Germany before being transferred to Argentina two decades ago, deserved the basic rights of a "non-human person."

桑德拉出生在德國，出生時就處于被關狀態。20年前被轉移至阿根廷。法院裁定其應該享有“非人類人”所應有的基本權利。

"This opens the way not only for other Great Apes, but also for other sentient beings which are unfairly and arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in zoos, circuses, water parks and scientific laboratories," the daily La Nacion newspaper quoted AFADA lawyer Paul Buompadre as saying.

《民族報》援引動物權利和官員律師協會律師保羅·布姆帕卓的話：“此舉不僅為其他類人猿打開了被釋放的大門，而且為其他被隨意不公地關押在動物園、馬戲團、水上公園和科學實驗室內的通人性生物打來了大門。”

Orangutan is a word from the Malay and Indonesian languages that means "forest man."

猩猩（Orangutan）一詞來自馬來和印尼語，意為“森林人”。

Sandra's case is not the first time activists have sought to use the habeas corpus writ to secure the release of wild animals from captivity.

桑德拉的案件并不是動物權利倡導者使用人身保護令解救被關押野生動物的首例。

A U.S. court this month tossed out a similar bid for the freedom of 'Tommy' the chimpanzee, privately owned in New York state, ruling the chimp was not a "person" entitled to the rights and protections afforded by habeas corpus.

本月，美國一家法院駁回了一起類似的釋放野生動物請愿，一只名為“湯米”的黑猩猩被紐約州居民私有。法庭認為這只黑猩猩不屬于“人類”，不能享有人身保護令賦予的權利和保護。

（翻譯：guanxiaoqi 編輯：Helen）