Hong Kong
CNN
—
A Chinese journalist jailed for four years for his reporting on the early stages of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in Wuhan will be released on Monday after completing his sentence, supporters and a court ruled. It’s planned.
Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer, is one of the few independent Chinese journalists to cover Wuhan after the city of 11 million people went into total lockdown, and while Chinese authorities imposed strict censorship. It provided valuable information that gave an unfiltered glimpse of reality. Media coverage.
She was taken into custody in May 2020 and sentenced a few months later to four years in prison for “picking a fight and provoking trouble.” This charge is often used by the Chinese government to target dissidents and human rights activists.
Zhang is scheduled to complete his sentence on Monday, according to the court verdict in his case obtained and made public by human rights groups.
Advocates and rights groups are calling on the Chinese government to release Zhang on schedule.
“So far, we have not received any confirmation that Zhang Zhan is leaving prison and returning home with his family. We are all still waiting,” said the UK-based Zhang Zhan Jiang. said Jane Wang, a supporter of the movement.
“I understand that her parents and brother are under tremendous pressure and have been strictly warned not to give media interviews. Phone calls from friends have also been left unanswered. “This is a very worrying sign,” she added.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which awarded Zhang with the Press Freedom Award in 2021, said in a post on social platform X Friday: “The international community is urged to put pressure on the authorities to ensure his unconditional release on Monday.” I called out.
In early February 2020, days after Wuhan went into lockdown, Zhang traveled nearly 400 miles from Shanghai to the central Chinese city to report on the spread of the virus and subsequent attempts to contain it. This was at a time when authorities were ramping up state-run lockdowns and containment efforts. Chinese private media.
She spent more than three months documenting snippets of life under lockdown in Wuhan and the harsh realities facing its residents, from overflowing hospitals to empty storefronts, as the world braced for the spread of the virus. . She posted her own observations, photos, and videos on her WeChat, Twitter, and YouTube, the latter two of which are blocked in China.
“I can’t say anything because everything is covered up. This is the problem this country is currently facing. Any opposition from us may be ‘rumours’ (ignored),” he said after arriving in Wuhan. she said in the video, wearing a face mask two weeks after.
“We can’t even control our own voices. They lock us up and restrict our freedoms in the name of pandemic prevention…If we don’t get the truth, we will break their monopoly on the truth. If we don’t, the world becomes meaningless to us.”
Her posts suddenly stopped in mid-May, and it was later revealed that she had been detained by police and taken back to Shanghai.
“Continuous Harassment and Surveillance”
China’s Foreign Ministry declined to confirm whether Zhang had been released at a regular press conference on Monday afternoon.
“I don’t have any relevant information, but what I can say is that China is a country ruled by law. Those who violate the law should be punished according to the law,” said Wang Wenbin, a ministry spokesperson.
“At the same time, China will fully protect the legal rights of defendants and prisoners in accordance with the law,” it added.
Human rights activists who have been working on China issues for years say that even if Zhang is released from prison, he will likely live under close surveillance by authorities.
“Zhang has been released from prison, but that doesn’t mean she’s free,” said Yaqiu Wang, director of China research at advocacy group Freedom House.
“If the Chinese government’s past record is any indication, she will face continued harassment and surveillance by the authorities. But if Zhang Zhan’s past actions are any indication, She will continue to fight efforts to silence her.”
Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s China director, said she was concerned that Zhang’s travel and contact with relatives and others, particularly those outside China, could be severely restricted. Stated.
“Zhang Zhan should never have been imprisoned in the first place. Now that she has served her sentence, we hope that she and her family can be reunited safely, returned to health, and, if she wishes, committed to important human rights work.” ” she said.
“The Chinese government’s imprisonment of Zhang Zhan is a shameful attack on her human rights, and her release must mark a new beginning.”
Advocates and rights groups are also concerned about Zhang’s poor health in prison and whether he will be able to receive treatment upon release.
The 40-year-old has gone on multiple hunger strikes since being detained and was briefly hospitalized. In 2021, Zhang’s mother said her daughter was so frail that she could not lift her head due to lack of strength, and she was in dire need of medical care.
Amnesty International has alleged that Zhang was shackled and force-fed during an earlier hunger strike, a treatment the group said amounted to torture.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has so far not responded to CNN’s inquiries about Zhang’s alleged mistreatment while in detention.
In a lengthy statement issued in July 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied that the Chinese government had cracked down on journalists who “exercised their right to free speech online” during the pandemic.
“In China, no one is punished or punished for speaking out,” the statement said. “The Chinese government has always carried out its response to the coronavirus in an open and transparent manner, with widely recognized results.”
Zhang was one of several independent journalists detained or disappeared in the early days of the pandemic, as Chinese authorities clamped down on coverage of the virus and propaganda outlets questioned whether Beijing’s response was effective and timely. This is due to excessive advertising.
According to Reporters Without Borders, China is the world’s largest prison for journalists, ranking 172 out of 180 countries in the annual Press Freedom Index.
Authorities tightly control domestic media outlets while blocking most foreign media through the Great Firewall, a massive online censorship and surveillance device.
