Archived
- China jails citizen-journalist for second time, RSF says
- Zhang Zhan initially jailed in 2020 after documenting COVID in Wuhan
- Zhang charged with 'picking quarrels, provoking trouble', group says
Zhang Zhan, 42, was sentenced on a charge of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" in China, the same charge that led to her December 2020 imprisonment after she posted first-hand accounts from the central city of Wuhan on the early spread of coronavirus, the international press freedom group, known by its French initials RSF, said on Saturday.
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"She should be celebrated globally as an 'information hero', not trapped in brutal prison conditions," RSF Asia-Pacific advocacy manager Aleksandra Bielakowska said in a statement.
"Her ordeal and persecution must end. It is more urgent than ever for the international diplomatic community to pressure Beijing for her immediate release."
Zhang was initially arrested after months of posting accounts, including videos, from crowded hospitals and empty streets that painted a more dire early picture of the disease than the official narrative. Her lawyer at the time, Ren Quanniu, said Zhang believed she was "being persecuted for exercising her freedom of speech".
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China's authorities have never publicly specified what activities Zhang was charged for.