Chinese Journalist Sentenced To Four Years Of Prison For Wuhan COVID-19 Reporting

Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan has been jailed in China for her COVID-19 reporting on Wuhan. She was reportedly found guilty of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" and is facing a jail time of four years. Zhan, who is a former lawyer, received her sentence during a hearing at a Shanghai court. To protest her detention, the 37-year-old has been on a hunger strike for several months and her lawyers allege her health is severely deteriorating. She "looked devastated when her sentence was announced," they said.

We earlier reported that Zhan had been a strong critic of the Wuhan government for their apparently "poor" handling of the coronavirus crisis. She was held by police in May. The indictment sheet, released in November, said Zhan had sent “false information through text, video and other media through the Internet media such as WeChat, Twitter and YouTube."

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"Maybe I Have A Rebellious Soul"

According to BBC, Zhan is one of seven journalists who have had a run-in with the Chinese government on their COVID-19 reporting. On facing legal trouble for her journalism, Zhan has previously been quoted saying, "Maybe I have a rebellious soul... I'm just documenting the truth. Why can't I show the truth? I won't stop what I'm doing because this country can't go backwards."

Zhan, through her virus reporting, claimed ill-management by the government in 2020, contrary to what China was claiming in other international reports. Given the stringent clampdowns media in China is susceptible to, Zhan went missing in May and was later revealed to have been held by authorities in Shanghai to face legal trial.

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Chinese Journalists Censured For Virus Reporting

Zhan, who has reportedly been on hunger strike since June, was force-fed through a nasal tube. "Restrained 24 hours a day, she needs assistance going to the bathroom, and she tosses and turns in her sleep. She feels psychologically exhausted, like every day is a torment," Zhang Keke, one of her lawyers, said.

"If they give me a heavy sentence then I will refuse food until the very end," the lawyers quoted Zhan as saying. According to reports, Zhan's mother was in tears when the verdict of a four-year jail term for her daughter was announced.

According to a Reuters report, China is the country considered to be the biggest jailer of journalists in the world. Aside from Zhan, CNN named journalists Chen Qiushi, Li Zehua, and Fang Bin to have gone "missing" for a period of time for their COVID-19 reporting.