Текст № 3 «Malaysia to abolish the death penalty»

  The Malaysian government has stated it intends to abolish the death penalty in a move that has been welcomed by human rights campaigners. Malaysia's Law Minister said: "The death penalty will be abolished. Fullstop." He added: "Since we are abolishing the sentence, all executions should not be carried out." There are currently over 1,267 people on death row in Malaysia who are set to win a reprieve. The law minister said prisoners on death row would be released or have their sentences commuted. He said: "When commuted, they would have to face life imprisonment because there had been several deaths that were caused by the offender and so they were sentenced to death."

Malaysia's decision was hailed by Amnesty International. Its Secretary General Kumi Naidoo said: "Malaysia must now join the 106 countries who have turned their backs for good on the ultimate cruel, inhumane, degrading punishment. The world is watching." Mr Naidoo added: "There is no time to waste. The death penalty should have been consigned to the history books long ago. Malaysia's new government has promised to deliver on human rights, and today's announcement is an encouraging sign, but much more needs to be done." There are still 23 countries that retain the death penalty. According to Amnesty International, there were 993 executions recorded worldwide in 2017.

Mark the following statements as true or false (T/F):

1. Human rights campaigners have hailed Malaysia's decision. T / F
2. There are over one thousand prisoners on death row in Malaysia. T / F
3. Prisoners on death row will now have to serve life sentences. T / F
4. The prisoners on death row have killed thousands of people. T / F
5. Fewer than 106 countries have abolished the death penalty. T / F
6. Amnesty International said this issue should be in a history book. T / F
7. There are 23 countries that still have the death penalty. T / F
8. Amnesty International said there were over 1,000 executions in 2017. T /

Provide the appropriate answers to the following questions based on the content of the text:

1. Who has welcomed the Malaysian government's decision?
2. Who said the death penalty would be abolished?
3. How many people are on death row in Malaysia?
4. What sentence will the death penalty be reduced to?
5. How many countries have abolished the death penalty?
6. How many countries still have the death penalty?
7. How many people did Amnesty International say were executed last year?

Translate the following sentences from Russian into English using vocabulary of the text: 

1. Решение правительства Малайзии об отмене смертной казни было с воодушевлением встречено правозащитниками.

2. В настоящее время в Малайзии более 1267 человек находятся в камере смертников, которые получат отсрочку.

3. Министр внутренних дел Малайзии заявил, что заключенные, приговоренные к смертной казни, будут либо освобождены, либо их приговор будет заменен на пожизненное заключение.

4. Генеральный секретарь правозащитной организации «Amnesty International» Куми Найдоо поприветствовал решение Малайзии присоединиться к 106 странам, которые навсегда отвернулись от жестокого, бесчеловечного и унижающего достоинство наказания.

5. По данным организации «Amnesty International» в мире существует еще 23 страны, в которых по-прежнему сохраняется смертная казнь.

Read the text and mark the following statements as true or false: