A pro-humanitarian website in China, known for covering sensitive issues, has said that its citizen journalist who reported from the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan has been jailed again.
The website claimed that a court in Shanghai sentenced its journalist, Zhang Zhan, to four more years in prison on Friday for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
It added that Zhang, who was released from jail last year, was detained again after being accused of spreading false information on social media. The website further said that her detention followed her support for a human rights activist in Gansu province.
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During the COVID pandemic, Zhang had travelled to Wuhan in Hubei province, where authorities detained and imprisoned her. She was one of the few journalists who documented the real situation on the ground in the city and shared her reports on social media.
She was later arrested on charges of spreading false and misleading information. She has now been sentenced to four years in prison.
International human rights organisations and journalists’ groups are calling for her immediate release, accusing Chinese authorities of suppressing press freedom.
According to the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, China ranks 178th, just one place above North Korea. This highlights the extent of state control and censorship of the media in the country.
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