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卡车司机韩东和何洪国(译名)于2020年10月因违反Covid-19大流行病条例和传播疾病被判处4年监禁。
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然而,他们没有被送进监狱,仍然在家中接受警方和法院的监视。
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2023年1月7日,北京宣布,违反Covid-19限制的行为不再是刑事犯罪。
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这两名司机在政策转变后提交了重审申请。
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法律专家说,在没有足够证据的情况下审理的案件可能有机会重审,但要追究地方政府在过去三年中的渎职行为的责任就太复杂了。
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这名司机的案件是中国三年来零科维德限制期间的众多案件之一。
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Han和He是连襟,他们开着卡车向黑龙江省运送蔬菜。
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他们在当地社区的微信群里报告了从锦州到绥中的行程,但没有报告到与俄罗斯边境的绥芬河和东宁的行程。
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他们回到家后,得知绥芬河发生了疫情,但仍像往常一样见人和跑腿。
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Han的Covid-19检测呈阴性,并与家人和朋友一起去吃饭。
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15天后,该县开始爆发疫情,姨妈的儿子与韩某共进晚餐,后来被诊断出患有Covid-19。
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韩某的检测结果也呈阳性,这些司机很快因涉嫌造成疫情而被调查。
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绥中县检察官告诉法庭,这些司机没有遵守大流行病控制条例,甚至在得知绥芬河市的疫情后,也没有向绥芬河市报告他们的旅行。
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在中国判决书在线网站上发现了70多个 "阻碍传染病防治 "的案例。
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这类案件的法律依据是中国的《传染病防治法》和《刑法》中关于有可能传播甲类传染病的条款。
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在实践中,模糊的地方使人难以确定个人的法律责任。
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法律专家说,刑法的基本规则是确定因果关系,这在司机的案件中很难做到。
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最高人民法院发布通知,宣布由于Covid-19不再是刑事犯罪,因违反大流行病控制条例而被处罚的案件可以重新审理。
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Truck drivers Han Dong and He Hongguo were sentenced to 4 years in prison in October 2020 for breaching Covid-19 pandemic regulations and spreading the disease.
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However, they were not sent to prison and remained under police and court surveillance at home.
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In January 7, 2023, Beijing announced that violating Covid-19 restrictions would no longer be a criminal offense.
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The two drivers submitted applications for a retrial following the policy shift.
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Legal experts said cases that had been heard without sufficient evidence might stand a chance of retrial, but it would be too complicated to hold local governments accountable for malpractices over the past three years.
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The drivers’ case was one of many during three years of zero-Covid restrictions in China.
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Han and He are brothers-in-law who drove a truck to deliver vegetables to Heilongjiang province.
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They reported their trip from Jinzhou to Suizhong in a local community WeChat group, but not the ones to Suifenhe and Dongning on the border with Russia.
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After they returned home, they learned there had been an outbreak in Suifenhe but continued meeting people and running errands as usual.
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Han tested negative for Covid-19 and went to dinner with family and friends.
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15 days later, an outbreak in the county began with the aunt’s son who had dinner with Han and was later diagnosed with Covid-19.
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Han also tested positive and the drivers were soon investigated on suspicion of causing the outbreak.
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Suizhong county prosecutors told the court that the drivers had not followed pandemic control regulations and reported their travel to Suifenhe, even after they learned of the outbreak in the city.
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More than 70 cases of “obstructing the prevention and control of infectious diseases” were found on the China Judgements Online website.
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The legal basis for such cases was China’s Law on Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases and a clause in the Criminal Law dealing with those at risk of spreading a category A infectious disease.
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In practice, vague areas made it difficult to determine an individual’s legal responsibilities.
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Legal experts said that the basic rule in criminal law was to establish causation, which was difficult in the drivers’ case.
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The Supreme People’s Court issued a notice declaring that since Covid-19 was no longer a criminal offense, the cases that had been punished for violating pandemic control regulations could be retried.