A Chinese citizen journalist imprisoned for covering the initial Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan is in critical condition and in need of immediate medical care following her hunger strikes protesting against the imprisonment. According to reports, 38-year-old journalist and former lawyer Zhang Zhan’s health condition is critical and is close to death.
Zhang Zhan was detained in May 2020 and was sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment in December after the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” were levelled against her by the Chinese authorities. The charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” is a common method used by the Chinese government to silence protesters and activists.
Zhang’s mother had informed after a video visit with her daughter in October that Zhan could not even hold her head up due to lack of strength and was severely underweight. Zhang’s mother also sought immediate medical care for her daughter.
A senior Chinese researcher Yaqiu Wang at Human Rights Watch noted, “The Chinese government needs to be held to account for allowing yet another peaceful critic to fall gravely ill while unjustly imprisoned,” and added, “Governments should call for Zhang Zhan’s urgent release to prevent an already terrible situation from becoming a tragic one.”
While a statement issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry had denied allegations of suppressing journalists and said, “In China, no one gets punished or penalized simply because of making remarks,”. The statement further said, “The Chinese government has all along conducted its Covid-19 response in an open and transparent manner, and has made widely recognized achievements.”
According to Zhang Zhan’s legal team, Zhan had been force-fed through Nasal tubes and her brother Zhang Ju wrote “She may not survive the coming cold winter,”
Amnesty International has urged the Chinese authorities to release Zhang Zhang immediately so that she could receive urgent medical care and its campaigner Gwen Lee termed the detention of Zhang Zhang as a “shameful attack on human rights”.
Notably, Zhang Zhan is one of the four citizen journalists detained for covering the Wuhan Covid outbreak. The others in the list were Chen Qiushi, Fang Bin and Li Zehua.
Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan was detained by the Chinese government in May 2020 for reporting on the Wuhan virus. She has later sentenced to four years imprisonment in December. Zhan was accused of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, a charge that is very often invoked against critics and activists in China. Reports suggest that she started observing hunger strikes in September last year and was force-fed through feeding tubes with her hands tied so that she could not tamper with the tubes.
