Zhang Zhan: China jails citizen journalist for Wuhan reports

A Chinese citizen journalist who covered Wuhan's coronavirus outbreak has been jailed for four years.

Zhang Zhan was found guilty of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", a frequent charge against activists.

The 37-year-old former lawyer was detained in May, and has been on hunger strike for several months. Her lawyers say she is in poor health.

Zhang is one of several citizen journalists who have run into trouble for reporting on Wuhan.

There is no free media in China and authorities are known to clamp down on activists or whistleblowers seen as undermining the government's response to the outbreak.

"Zhang Zhan looked devastated when the sentence was announced," Ren Quanniu, who was one of her defence lawyers, told news agency AFP.

Ren added that Ms Zhang's mother, who was in court, sobbed loudly as the verdict was read out.

Zhang had travelled to Wuhan in February to independently report on the outbreak there. Her livestreamed reports and essays were widely shared on social media, bringing her to the attention of the Chinese authorities.

CHRD said her reports also included coverage of the detention of other independent journalists and the harassment of families of victims who were seeking accountability.

In a video interview with an independent filmmaker before her arrest, Ms Zhang said she decided to visit Wuhan after reading an online post by a resident about life in the city during the outbreak.

Once there, she began documenting what she saw on the streets and hospitals in livestreams, despite threats by authorities.

"Maybe I have a rebellious soul... I'm just documenting the truth. Why can't I show the truth?" she said in a clip of the interview obtained by the BBC.

"I won't stop what I'm doing because this country can't go backwards."

Zhang went missing on 14 May according to the CHRD. One day later, it was revealed she had been detained by police in Shanghai, more than 400 miles (640km) away.

She was formally charged in early November. The indictment sheet alleges she sent "false information through text, video and other media through [platforms like] WeChat, Twitter and YouTube".

She is also accused of accepting interviews with foreign media outlets and "maliciously spreading" information about the virus in Wuhan. A sentence of four to five years was recommended.

(Source: BBC)