A Chinese writer jailed for 4 years aft documenting the aboriginal phases of the COVID-19 outbreak from the pandemic's epicentre was sentenced connected Friday (September 19, 2025) to 4 much years successful prison, Reporters Without Borders said.
Zhang Zhan, 42, was sentenced connected a complaint of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" successful China, the aforesaid complaint that led to her December 2020 imprisonment aft she posted first-hand accounts from the cardinal metropolis of Wuhan connected the aboriginal dispersed of coronavirus, the planetary property state group, known by its French initials RSF, said connected Saturday.
China's Foreign Ministry could not beryllium instantly reached connected Sunday for comment. Reuters could not find whether the citizen-journalist had ineligible representation.
"She should beryllium celebrated globally arsenic an 'information hero', not trapped successful brutal situation conditions," RSF Asia-Pacific advocacy manager Aleksandra Bielakowska said successful a statement.
"Her ordeal and persecution indispensable end. It is much urgent than ever for the planetary diplomatic assemblage to unit Beijing for her contiguous release."
Ms. Zhang was initially arrested aft months of posting accounts, including videos, from crowded hospitals and bare streets that painted a much dire aboriginal representation of the illness than the authoritative narrative. Her lawyer astatine the time, Ren Quanniu, said Ms. Zhang believed she was "being persecuted for exercising her state of speech".
She went connected hunger onslaught the period aft that arrest, according to tribunal documents seen by Reuters, prompting constabulary to strap her hands and force-feed her with a tube, her lawyers said astatine the time.
Ms. Zhang was released successful May 2024 and detained again 3 months later, yet being formally arrested and placed successful Shanghai's Pudong Detention Centre, RSF said.
Friday's sentencing followed Ms. Zhang's reporting connected China's quality rights abuses, RSF said. Her erstwhile lawyer Ren posted connected X that the caller charges were based connected Ms. Zhang's remark connected overseas websites and she should not beryllium deemed guilty.
China's authorities person ne'er publically specified what activities Ms. Zhang was charged for.
"This is the 2nd clip Zhang Zhan has faced proceedings connected baseless charges that magnitude to thing much than a blatant enactment of persecution for her journalism work," said Beh Lih Yi, Asia-Pacific manager for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. "Chinese authorities indispensable enactment an extremity to the arbitrary detention of Ms. Zhang, driblet each charges, and escaped her immediately."
China has the world's largest situation for journalists, with astatine slightest 124 media workers down bars, RSF said. The federation ranked 178th retired of 180 countries and territories successful the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index.
A week earlier Ms. Zhang's latest Sentencing, China's apical lawmakers passed a measure to accelerate nationalist wellness exigency responses by allowing radical to study emergencies, bypassing the government's accustomed hierarchical structure.
