维克鲁姆·迪格瓦获准就亨利·诺瓦克谋杀案中21年的最低服刑期提出上诉。此次听证重新引发外界对其卡尔潘自卫主张，以及该主张对锡克社群和警务影响的审视。
Vickrum Digwa has been allowed to appeal the 21-year minimum term in Henry Nowak's murder case. The hearing revives scrutiny of his kirpan defence and its impact on Sikhs and policing.
一名23岁的英国锡克男子因在英格兰东南部用刀刺死一名18岁学生而被判终身监禁，获准就刑期长度提出上诉。迪格瓦于6月因杀害南安普顿大学学生亨利·诺瓦克而入狱。他将在11月5日于上诉法院对21年的最低服刑期提出质疑，在获准考虑假释之前须先服满该刑期。
A 23-year-old British Sikh man convicted of fatally stabbing an 18-year-old student in south-east England has been allowed to appeal the length of his life sentence. Vickrum Digwa, who was jailed in June for the murder of Southampton University student Henry Nowak, will challenge the minimum term of 21 years before he can be considered for parole at the Court of Appeal on November 5.
迪格瓦还申请就谋杀罪定罪提出上诉，该申请将另行裁定。此案之所以广受关注，是因为他曾提出基于宗教的自卫抗辩，声称袭击中使用的21厘米长刀是一把卡尔潘刀。这是锡克教徒在英国依法可以携带的礼仪用刀。
Digwa has also applied to appeal against his murder conviction, with that application to be decided separately. The case drew wide attention after he attempted a religious self-defence argument, claiming the 21-cm blade used in the attack was a kirpan, a ceremonial knife that Sikhs are legally allowed to carry in the UK.
去年12月，诺瓦克在波特斯伍德外出参加夜间活动后回家途中，被迪格瓦连续刺了五刀。迪格瓦因此被判有罪，案件引发轩然大波。英国锡克团体后来表示，他们担心案件会引发针对该社群的“反扑”，并导致针对该社群的“仇恨犯罪”增加。
Digwa was found guilty of stabbing Nowak five times as the student returned home from a night out in Portswood last December. The case sparked uproar, and British Sikh groups later said they feared a "backlash" and a rise in "hate crime" against the community following the proceedings.
7月，出生于印度的迪格瓦之母基兰·考尔在南安普顿巡回刑事法院被判协助犯罪者，入狱3年。现年53岁的考尔被裁定持有迪格瓦在南安普顿杀害诺瓦克时使用的凶器，并协助将凶器移出现场，以妨碍调查。
In July, Digwa's India-born mother, Kiran Kaur, was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of assisting an offender at Southampton Crown Court. The 53-year-old was found guilty of taking possession of the weapon used by Digwa to kill Nowak in Southampton and helping remove it from the scene to hinder the investigation.
在判处考尔监禁时，威廉·穆斯利法官表示：“锡克教的一个基本原则是，佩戴基尔潘短剑纯粹是宗教信仰的象征，绝不能用于攻击目的。”他补充道：“显而易见，要使使用行为合理，任何为其使用提供正当理由的潜在威胁，都只能发生在极其严重和紧迫的情况下。”随着今年早些时候法庭披露该案细节，英国锡克教领袖和议员们谴责了他们所称的对基尔潘短剑的曲解，并表示此案中“不存在任何宗教保护或免责理由”。
While sentencing Kaur, Justice William Mousley said: "It is a fundamental principle of Sikhism that any kirpan is worn as a symbol of religious faith and is never to be carried for an offensive purpose." He added: "It is obvious that for use to be reasonable, any perceived threat justifying its use would only be in circumstances of great seriousness and urgency." As details of the crime emerged in court earlier this year, British Sikh leaders and parliamentarians condemned what they called the misrepresentation of the kirpan and said that "no religious protection or justification applied" in the case.
这起案件还导致南安普敦局势紧张，并引发了独立警察行为监督局（Independent Office for Police Conduct）对汉普郡和怀特岛警察局警员的调查，此前有指控称存在“双重标准”执法，即优先照顾某一个社群而忽视另一个。该问题涉及警方随身执法记录仪拍摄的诺瓦克生命最后时刻的画面，画面显示他在迪格瓦指控其种族主义后被警员戴上手铐，而这一指控随后在法庭上被证明不实。
The case also led to tensions in Southampton and prompted an Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation involving Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary officers amid allegations of "two-tier" policing, under which one community is prioritised over another. The issue related to police body-worn camera footage of Nowak's final moments, which showed him being handcuffed by officers over Digwa's allegations of racism, later debunked in court.
目前该案将发回上诉法院重审，而迪格瓦就其谋杀定罪提出的独立上诉请求仍有待裁决。（本文内容综合印度报业托拉斯（PTI）报道）
The case now returns to the Court of Appeal, while Digwa's separate bid to challenge his murder conviction is still to be decided. With PTI Inputs