Chinese citizen-journalist Zhang Zhan has been sentenced to another four years in prison, press freedom groups said, extending her punishment for documenting the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) confirmed the new sentence on Friday, saying the 42-year-old was convicted again under the charge of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble." It is the same offense that led to her original four-year sentence in December 2020, after she posted videos and first-hand accounts from hospitals and deserted streets in Wuhan that contradicted the government’s official story.
Zhang’s lawyer at the time argued she was punished simply for “exercising her freedom of speech.” She began a hunger strike shortly after her first arrest, according to court records, and was later force-fed while restrained, her attorneys said.
Her situation has drawn criticism from international groups: “She should be celebrated globally as an ‘information hero,’ not trapped in brutal prison conditions,” RSF’s Asia-Pacific advocacy manager Aleksandra Bielakowska, said according to Reuters. “Her ordeal and persecution must end. It is more urgent than ever for the international diplomatic community to pressure Beijing for her immediate release.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the ruling. “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, the group’s Asia-Pacific director.
Zhang was briefly freed in May 2024 but detained again three months later and held at Shanghai’s Pudong Detention Center, RSF reported.
Authorities have not specified which activities triggered the new prosecution.
China holds more journalists in prison than any other country, with at least 124 detained, according to RSF’s 2025 press freedom index, which ranks China 178th of 180 countries worldwide.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) confirmed the new sentence on Friday, saying the 42-year-old was convicted again under the charge of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble." It is the same offense that led to her original four-year sentence in December 2020, after she posted videos and first-hand accounts from hospitals and deserted streets in Wuhan that contradicted the government’s official story.
Zhang’s lawyer at the time argued she was punished simply for “exercising her freedom of speech.” She began a hunger strike shortly after her first arrest, according to court records, and was later force-fed while restrained, her attorneys said.
Her situation has drawn criticism from international groups: “She should be celebrated globally as an ‘information hero,’ not trapped in brutal prison conditions,” RSF’s Asia-Pacific advocacy manager Aleksandra Bielakowska, said according to Reuters. “Her ordeal and persecution must end. It is more urgent than ever for the international diplomatic community to pressure Beijing for her immediate release.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the ruling. “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, the group’s Asia-Pacific director.
Zhang was briefly freed in May 2024 but detained again three months later and held at Shanghai’s Pudong Detention Center, RSF reported.
Authorities have not specified which activities triggered the new prosecution.
China holds more journalists in prison than any other country, with at least 124 detained, according to RSF’s 2025 press freedom index, which ranks China 178th of 180 countries worldwide.
