Zhang Zhan, Christian blogger who reported on Wuhan, goes on trial again
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders issued an appeal on behalf of the activist, who was jailed again a few months ago after serving four years in prison for her reports on the pandemic. Last November, she was indicted for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
Beijing (AsiaNews) – Advocacy groups have launched an appeal on behalf of Zhang Zhan, a Chinese Christian journalist and blogger. After spending years in prison for reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic, she is set to go on trial over her work in favour of human rights and religious freedom.
One of these groups is the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OPHRD), a unique partnership set up in 1997 by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT).
According to some sources, Zhang, is expected to appear in court soon, while being subjected to arbitrary detention and ill-treatment.
Targeted by the Chinese authorities for her coverage of the coronavirus emergency, which began in Wuhan in January 2020, the Christian activist is now persecuted for supporting and defending a colleague and human rights activist.
Zhang is known for her campaigns and reports on human rights and freedoms in the country; in retaliation for her activism, the authorities have suspended her license to practise law.
In early March, some reports suggest that she would go on trial at the People's Court in Pudong, Shanghai, on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” under Article 293 of the China’s Penal Code.
The trial’s date is still unknown, but some sources claim prosecutors will demand a sentence of four to five years.
The OPHRD reports that Zhang Zhan was released from prison on 13 May last year after serving a four-year sentence on the same charge.
Afterwards, she travelled to Gansu Province to help pro-democracy activist Zhang Panchen obtain legal representation.
Following this visit, Shanghai police travelled over 1,400 kilometres to Zhang Zhan's hometown in Shanxi at the end of August 2024 to arrest her.
Subsequently, on 18 November she was formally indicted on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. She is currently held at Pudong Prison in Shanghai.
According to several reports, including one published on 25 January 2025 by Rights Defense Network, Zhang has been on intermittent hunger strikes to protest her arbitrary detention.
Prison staff have reportedly forced fed her through a tube, a practice that constitutes ill-treatment and, in some cases, torture, in violation of the Convention against Torture ratified by China in 1988. Such practices also pose a serious threat to her health.
Zhang's lawyer in Shanghai was allowed to meet with her, but was pressured by authorities not to publicly disclose details of the case.
Advocacy groups are deeply concerned for her state of health and strongly condemn her detention, which seems to have the sole purpose of punishing her for her legitimate human rights activities.
Finally, the OPHRD calls on Chinese authorities to stop harassing Zhang Zhan, including in court, and instead release her immediately and unconditionally, so that she can receive urgent and adequate medical care.
Before COVID-19, the Christian activist and journalist was arrested for the first time in September 2019 for marching with an umbrella on Nanjing Road in Shanghai in support of the Hong Kong protests.
As soon as the pandemic was declared, she travelled to Wuhan to document what was going on, publishing a hundred videos in three months and answering questions from international media.
Arrested in May 2020, she became the first blogger to be convicted for reporting on the pandemic.
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07/02/2019 17:28
