Journalist And Former Lawyer Zhang Zhan On ‘verge Of Death’ In Chinese Prison

03/11/21

37-year-old journalist Zhang Zhan was sentenced to four years in prison in December 2020 after being found guilty of a loosely defined charge.

Zhang Zhan, a jailed Chinese citizen journalist and former lawyer, is on the ‘verge of death’ after months of intermittent hunger strikes in protest of her imprisonment. The 37-year-old Zhang was sentenced to four years in prison in December 2020 after being found guilty of a loosely defined charge often levelled by authorities against individuals, who are critical of the Chinese government, according to a report by Radio Free Asia (RFA). Zhang’s brother Zhang Ju stated that her sister is not going to live much longer. Last month, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) expressed worry over the health of the Chinese journalist and urged the authorities to exonerate and free her without delay. The British Embassy to China also took to Twitter to urge Chinese authorities to release Zhang and all those detained for their reporting.

Zhang Zhan on ‘verge of death’ in Chinese prison

It is significant to mention here that Zhang covered the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan in February 2020, exposing the Chinese authorities’ strategies for controlling the virus’ spread as well as the situation in local hospitals. Following this, she was arrested in May 2020 on charges of distributing false information on social media. Zhang allegedly commented on the COVID pandemic while giving interviews to international news organisations, according to the indictment document. Zhang has been on a hunger strike in protest of the unjust charges levelled against her owing to which her health has severely deteriorated, reported the RFA.

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https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/china/journalist-and-former-lawyer-zhang-zhan-on-verge-of-death-in-chinese-prison.html

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/jailed-11022021094244.html

https://rsf.org/en/news/china-rsf-urges-release-covid-19-reporter-who-faces-impending-death

https://www.amnesty.org/fr/documents/pol32/4571/2021/en/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Zhan

https://rsf.org/fr/actualites/rsf-appelle-la-liberation-dune-journaliste-chinoise-en-danger-imminent-de-mort (FRANCAIS)

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Zhan