Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who was released from prison in May 2024 after serving four years for reporting on the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan, is set to face a second trial on Friday at the Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Court. The charge is 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble', a catch-all term often used to target government critics, according to human rights activists and media freedom groups.
Zhang, a 42-year-old former lawyer from Shaanxi province, first gained attention in 2020 when she travelled to Wuhan to document the government's response to the pandemic. Her videos, shared on platforms including X and YouTube, were viewed over 100,000 times and offered a rare glimpse into China's strict zero-Covid measures. She was arrested in May 2020 and sentenced to four years in prison.
After her release, Zhang faced restrictions on her movements and lived under close police surveillance, activists say. She was detained again in August 2024 and formally arrested in November on the same charge. Her indictment cites posts on X and YouTube that 'seriously damaged the country's image'. Prosecutors have recommended a sentence of four to five years.
Antoine Bernard, a director at Reporters Without Borders, described the trial as 'not only prosecution, it's persecution'. Sophie Richardson of Chinese Human Rights Defenders said, 'Imagine the travesties that could have been avoided inside and outside China if Zhang Zhan and other independent journalists had been allowed to report freely on Covid-19.'
A Chinese government spokesperson stated, 'The case is about China's judicial sovereignty, and no external forces have the right to interfere. Her legitimate rights will be fully respected and protected.'
