Chinese Journalist Sentenced To Four More Years In Jail Over Covid Reporting: Report

A Chinese journalist jailed for four years after documenting the earliest days of the coronavirus outbreak at its origin in Wuhan was sentenced to four more years of jail, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Zhang Zhan, aged 42, has once again been handed a prison sentence for the offence of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. 

She was previously jailed in December 2020 on the same charge after sharing on-the-ground reports from Wuhan about the initial outbreak of the COVID pandemic, the group said.

As per a Reuters report, it remains unclear whether the citizen journalist has access to legal counsel.

“Still shocked and outraged by Zhang Zhan’s baseless 4-year sentence. She should be honoured as an ‘information hero,’ not locked in brutal prison conditions. The world must keep pressing Beijing for her immediate release,” said RSF Asia-Pacific advocacy manager Aleksandra Bielakowska in a post on X.

Responding to the sentence, the UN Human Rights Office said, “The reported sentencing of citizen journalist and former lawyer Zhang Zhan to four more years’ jail on the vague and ill-defined charge of 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble' is deeply disturbing. We call for her immediate and unconditional release.”

Zhang was first taken into custody after sharing reports and video footage over several months that showed overwhelmed hospitals and deserted streets, offering a far bleaker view of the outbreak than the government’s version of events. 

As per a Reuters report, her lawyer, Ren Quanniu, stated that she felt she was being punished for exercising her right to free expression.

Court records, reviewed by Reuters, indicate that a month after her detention, she resorted to a hunger strike. Her lawyers later reported that authorities restrained her and administered food through a tube against her will.

According to Reporters Without Borders, Zhang was freed in May 2024 but taken back into custody just three months later, after which she was officially arrested and held at the Pudong Detention Centre in Shanghai. The group added that her latest sentence was linked to her coverage of human rights issues in China.