London: Authorities in China were expected to issue a citizen journalist He was jailed for four years after documenting the early stages of coronavirus outbreak from the central city of Wuhan In 2020.
zhang zhanThe 40-year-old, who traveled to Wuhan from Shanghai, where she lived, in early 2020 posted first-hand accounts from crowded hospitals and empty streets, painting a more dire picture of the pandemic than the official narrative.
After several months of reporting, including videos, he was detained in May 2020. According to court documents seen by Reuters, she went on hunger strike in late June, after which police had to tie her hands and force-feed her through a tube, her lawyers said at the time.
In December 2020, a Shanghai court convicted him of “picking up fights and provoking trouble” and sentenced him to four years in prison.
The indictment published in Zhang’s case by human rights activists indicates she will be released on Monday. However, one of his lawyers, Zhang Keke, told Reuters he could not yet confirm whether he had been released.
“Zhang Zhan’s relatives and family have not yet responded to me,” he said.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters he had no “relevant information” on the matter.
Jane Wang, a UK-based lawyer who called for Zhang Zhan’s release, said Zhang’s family had been put under intense pressure by authorities and warned not to engage with the media.
Wang told Reuters, “It is completely unacceptable that the Chinese government inflicts such cruelty on many human rights defenders and their families. Even after being released from prison, they are still deprived of their basic rights.”
Zhang Zhan’s health seriously declined Jail Rights groups say he was admitted to the prison hospital in mid-2023.
US State Department It condemned the “sham prosecution” of Zhang and repeatedly called for his release.
Hailed as a hero by many regular Chinese for chronicling the coronavirus crisis amid an early information blackout, his case also attracted international attention as the virus spread rapidly around the world from the epicenter in Wuhan.
Chinese authorities have dealt harshly with Zhang and other critics of its coronavirus policies. Another COVID whistleblower, Fang Bin, was reportedly jailed for three years before being released last year, according to media reports.
One of his supporters wrote on She can have the freedom she deserves.”
(Reporting by Hong Kong and China newsrooms; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Ross Russell)
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