Chinese journalist, who was arrested for COVID-19 reporting, sentenced to jail in new case

Zhang, 42, had served a four-year sentence after being arrested in May 2020 for posting more than 100 videos documenting the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan.

She was released in May 2024 but was detained again three months later in Shanghai over her reporting on human rights abuses, according to RSF.

Prosecutors accused her of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a charge frequently used against journalists and dissidents in China. RSF said diplomats were barred from her trial and details were concealed from the public.

“This is utterly appalling,” said Aleksandra Bielakowska, RSF’s Asia-Pacific advocacy manager. “She was first jailed for reporting on COVID-19, then re-arrested for covering rights abuses. Her persecution must end.”

Zhang has been held at Shanghai’s Pudong Detention Centre since her re-arrest in August 2024.

RSF said she has been cut off from the outside world, with little information about her condition made public.

Zhang was originally sentenced in December 2020 to four years in prison for her COVID-19 reporting.

The new conviction adds another four-year term, extending her imprisonment despite international calls for her release.