Countries with the worst human rights abuses tend to pass laws prohibiting the publication and consumption of dissenting opinions.

侵犯人權最嚴重的國家，會立法禁止反對聲浪的出版和傳播。

Freedom of the press is so important, it is written into the US’s First Amendment, but not all countries share this view.

新聞出版自由是如此重要，以致它就列在美國憲法第一修正案，但並非所有國家都認同這一點。

So, what are the countries with the worst censorship policies?

哪些國家的審查制度最糟糕呢？

In recent years, media watchdog groups have repeatedly pointed to the African country of Eritrea as having the most aggressively restrictive press censorship.

近幾年，媒體監督組織一再指出非洲國家厄利垂亞的新聞審查最為激進而嚴格。

Eritrea has used a sort of state of emergency concerning their border dispute with Ethiopia in order to force independent media outlets to close, and arrest journalists.

厄利垂亞國以國家進入緊急狀態為由，審查他們與衣索比亞的國界爭議迫使獨立媒體關閉並逮補記者。

This is unsurprising in light of the fact that Eritrea has one of the worst human rights records in the world,

並不令人意外，因為厄利垂亞國是世界人權紀錄最糟的國家之一，

with religious persecution, indefinite military conscription, and until recently, female genital mutilation as just a few of their problems.

宗教迫害、無限的征兵，直到不久前的女性割禮都僅只是冰山一角。

Since 2000, 23 journalists have been jailed without being charged, and several have reportedly died in custody.

自 2003 年起，23 名記者未經起訴程序遭受監禁，據報，好幾位記者在拘留期間死去。

Less than 1% of citizens have internet access, and even that is filtered through the country’s only telecommunications company.

能上網的人民少於 1%，即便能上網，資訊也受到國內唯一的通訊公司過濾。

The next worst offender is North Korea.

下一個被控訴為最糟的國家是北韓。

Information in the Hermit Kingdom is known to be tightly controlled, and massively misinformed.

資訊在這個隱居國度以受到嚴實的控制和極度誤導人民而聞名。

Their exclusively state-run media makes claims like "North Korea Leads the World in Human Rights" while having among the worst human rights record in the world.

他們獨大的國營媒體做出這類聲稱：「北韓在人權方面引導全球。」實際上在最糟人權紀錄上卻名列前茅 。

Additionally, access to the internet is rare, and unrestricted cell phones are prohibited.

另外，上網在北韓很罕見，未受管制的手機是被禁止的。

Some residents are able to access the country’s internal internet which is a collection of several thousand government curated websites designed to spread propaganda.

部份國民能夠連上國家內部的網際網路，這個網路上有一系列政府策劃的網站，設計來做為宣傳工具。

Saudi Arabia is also a big proponent of punishing dissent.

沙烏地阿拉伯也是懲處異己的倡議者。

As a monarchy, the country uses royal decrees and anti-terrorism scares to outlaw any criticism of the government or Islam.

在君主制度下，這個國家利用王權頒布命令和反恐的威脅，取締任何批評政府和伊斯蘭教的人。

They use an absentee court to pass harsh sentences without the defendant even being present.

他們在「被告未出席」的法庭上判處極刑，被告甚至沒有在場。

They also monitor web traffic, blocking any sites that are incompatible with state positions.

他們也監控網路流量，擋下任何和國家立場不同的網站。

In 2011, they passed a law forcing all online bloggers and news organizations to apply for a license in order to continue operating.

2011 年，他們通過法令，強迫所有部落客和新聞組織必須申請執照才能繼續經營。

China is also well known for its strict and aggressive internet censorship, and holds the largest number of jailed journalists, 44 in 2014.

中國也以嚴格、大力執行的網路審查聞名，並且監禁了最多名記者，2014 年有 44 位。

Vietnam’s government has strict laws that dictate all media should be used as a mouthpiece for the country’s Communist party.

越南政府有嚴厲的法律，命令所有媒體必須當國家共產黨的代言人。

Bloggers are kept under supervision, attacked in the street, and regularly arrested.

部落客一直受到監視，在街上被攻擊，經常被逮捕。

As reported by the Freedom of the Press index, only about 14% of the world lives in a country with a truly unrestricted press, mostly in North America, Europe, and Australia.

依新聞自由指數所報導世界上只有 14% 的國家擁有真正未受限制的媒體出版自由，大多在北美、歐洲和澳洲。

The worst are found in Africa and Asia.

最糟糕的則在非洲和亞洲。

Luckily, in many restrictive countries, residents use clandestine means to gain and report information from the outside world.

幸運的是在許多受限制的國家，居民暗中取得並報導外面世界的資訊。

Despite the harsh punishments they face, it’s clear that people will find a way to get informed.

無論他們面臨多麼嚴峻的刑罰，顯然人們會想辦法取得資訊。

In 2009, while I was held captive in North Korea, I was allowed to watch some television with my guards and I got an inside look at what the country’s media was really like.

2009 年，當我在北韓被俘的時候，我被允許在警衛陪同之下看些電視，我從內部看到這個國家媒體的真實樣貌。

 While they did have shows related to exercise, cooking and even the American cartoon Tom & Jerry, the majority of programming was devoted to government propaganda.

雖然他們有運動、料理節目，甚至有美國卡通《湯姆貓與傑利鼠》，大部份的節目都專門為政府宣傳。

To learn more about what got me through that very difficult time please, check out watch my new series Rituals.

想了解更多我如何熬過那段艱難的日子，請點閱我的新系列影片《儀式》。