Zhang Zhan, a Chinese journalist, was sentenced to 4 more years of prison on a charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, by the authorities in China on Friday. Coincidentally, Zhan was previously booked under the same charge in December 2020, which led to her being imprisoned for 4 years after she posted first-hand accounts from Wuhan on the early spread of coronavirus.
Zhan, who came into the limelight for documenting the early phases of the COVID-19 outbreak from the pandemic’s epicentre, was recently sentenced to four more years in prison for her reports on China’s human rights abuses, as reported by several media groups.
Friday’s sentencing followed Zhang’s reporting on China’s human rights abuses, an International press freedom group that goes by RSF said on Sunday. Her former lawyer Ren posted on X that the new charges were based on Zhang’s comment on overseas websites, and she should not be deemed guilty.
Press Freedom groups on Zhang’s arrest
“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.
Zhang was initially arrested in 2020 after months of posting accounts, including videos, from crowded hospitals and empty streets that painted a more dire and deadly picture of the disease than what was the official narrative at the time.
“Her ordeal and persecution must end. It is more urgent than ever for the international diplomatic community to pressure Beijing for her immediate release. This is the second time Zhang Zhan has faced trial on baseless charges that amount to nothing more than a blatant act of persecution for her journalism work,” said Beh Lih Yi, Asia-Pacific director for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
How did Zhang protest her arrest?
After her initial arrest in 2020, Zhang protested against the court order for imprisonment by going on a hunger strike a month after her imprisonment. According to court documents, Zhang’s decision prompted the police to strap her hands and force-feed her with a tube, her lawyers said at the time
Her lawyer at the time, Ren Quanniu, said Zhang believed she was “being persecuted for exercising her freedom of speech”.
Apart from the charges listed before, China’s authorities as of now have not publicly specified the exact nature of activities for which Zhang was arrested.
As per Reporters Without Borders, China holds the world’s largest prison for journalists, with at least 124 media workers behind bars. The nation ranked 178th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index.