COVID Whistleblower Sentenced to 4 More Years in Prison Over Reporting: Rights Group

Zhang Zhan ‘should be celebrated globally ... not trapped in brutal prison conditions,’ said Reporters Without Borders.

Zhang Zhan stands outside a shop during a visit to Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on April 11, 2020. Courtesy of Melanie Wang via AP

Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan has been sentenced to another four years in prison for her early reporting of the COVID-19 pandemic as it initially broke out in China, according to French international press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Zhang was initially imprisoned in December 2020 and put on trial again on Sept. 19 to face the same charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a controversial statute the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses to target political dissidents.

“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 Sept. 20 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.”

It was a closed trial, with police surrounding the courthouse to prevent entry.

Although the case has gained significant international attention, Chinese authorities also barred foreign diplomats from observing the proceedings.

The International Service for Human Rights said on Sept. 19 that diplomats and journalists had been turned away from the Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court without confirmation that the trial was proceeding.

Chinese authorities also moved to silence Zhang’s supporters. Some reported that local police intercepted them before they could travel to Shanghai. A Wuhan-based rights activist said he was threatened with punishment if he attempted to leave the city. Others who managed to arrive in Shanghai were tracked down and detained by police.

Shanghai-based activist Shen Yanqiu was detained on the morning of the trial and released only in the afternoon.

Chinese lawyer Peng Yonghe, who had volunteered to testify in Zhang’s defense, was placed under police control the day before. Anticipating restrictions, Peng recorded a video message beforehand, calling Zhang “a true patriot” committed to constitutionalism, democracy, and the rule of law.

“The indictment does not specify her criminal motive,” Peng said. “If Zhang Zhan’s actions do not constitute what is called ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble,’ then she may be innocent. I am willing to testify in court on her behalf.”

COVID-19 Reports

In 2020, Zhang traveled to Wuhan city, where the COVID-19 outbreak began, and started posting stories and videos showing crowded hospitals and empty streets, showing a stark contrast between the dire straits citizens faced and the official narrative of the regime.

Months later, she was arrested, and her attorney, Ren Quanniu, at the time stated that Zhang believed she was “being persecuted for exercising her freedom of speech.”

Zhang went on a hunger strike the month after that arrest, and police strapped her hands and force-fed her with a tube.

Zhang was released in May 2024, but detained again in August 2024, and later formally arrested and charged.

Her attorney said on X that the new charges are based on Zhang’s statements on foreign websites and called it persecution. Chinese authorities have not made public the details of this second case.

Beh Lih Yi, Asia program coordinator at the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said Zhang has faced two trials on “baseless charges” that persecute her for her journalism.

Zhang’s work during the pandemic earned her multiple international awards, including a Press Freedom Award for Courage from Reporters Without Borders, the Lin Zhao Freedom Award from ChinaAid, and the Honorary Prize for Freedom of Expression from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Université Libre de Bruxelles

Whistleblowers and citizen journalists had broken the story on the original virus outbreak in Wuhan in 2019, providing information that the CCP sought to keep from the world. Several faced serious repercussions from the regime for their reporting.

Reuters, Hong Ning, and Michael Zhuang contributed to this report.