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.

阿根廷当地媒体周日报道，阿根廷一家法院认为当地动物园内的一只猩猩被非法剥夺了自由权，并判定这只猩猩为“非人类人”，它可获得自由并转移至避难所。

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岁的桑德拉是布宜诺斯艾利斯动物园内的一只苏门答腊猩猩。今年11月份，动物权利倡导者代表桑德拉提交了一份人身保护请愿书，这是专门用于挑战人身拘留或监禁合法性的文件。

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.

这一判决有里程碑式的意义，且可为更多诉讼铺平道路。动物权利和官员律师协会在诉讼中表示，猿类具有足够的认知能力，不应被当做物品来对待。

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."

桑德拉出生在德国，出生时就处于被关状态。20年前被转移至阿根廷。法院裁定其应该享有“非人类人”所应有的基本权利。

"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.

《民族报》援引动物权利和官员律师协会律师保罗·布姆帕卓的话：“此举不仅为其他类人猿打开了被释放的大门，而且为其他被随意不公地关押在动物园、马戏团、水上公园和科学实验室内的通人性生物打来了大门。”

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

猩猩（Orangutan）一词来自马来和印尼语，意为“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动物权利倡导者使用人身保护令解救被关押野生动物的首例。

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，美国一家法院驳回了一起类似的释放野生动物请愿，一只名为“汤米”的黑猩猩被纽约州居民私有。法庭认为这只黑猩猩不属于“人类”，不能享有人身保护令赋予的权利和保护。

（翻译：guanxiaoqi 编辑：Helen）