COVID-19 whistleblowing citizen journalist Zhang Zhan will soon undergo a second trial in Shanghai on public order charges amid reports she is once more refusing food in detention, people familiar with the case told RFA Mandarin.
Zhang, 40, was one of a group of citizen journalists detained, jailed or “disappeared” after they went to the central city of Wuhan to report on the emerging COVID-19 pandemic.
In December 2020, she wasfound guilty of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble” -- a vague charge frequently used to target peaceful critics of the ruling Communist Party -- and sentenced to four years' imprisonment.
Last June, she was released from that sentence, during which she repeatedly refused food, but then was re-detained in September 2024.
Now, she faces new charges -- also of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble” -- and will likely stand trial at the Pudong New Area People’s Court in Shanghai very soon, a person familiar with the case told Radio Free Asia.
The Weiquanwang rights website reported Jan. 25 [in Chinese] that the new charges are likely linked to a trip Zhang made to the western province of Gansu after her release to help detained pro-democracy activist Zhang Pancheng.
Prosecutors are now seeking a prison sentence of 4-5 years.
“She’s probably going to be tried again soon, and I think she’ll get four years,” said the...
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