{"id":6509,"date":"2025-09-23T14:31:27","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T07:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/?p=6509"},"modified":"2025-09-23T14:31:28","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T07:31:28","slug":"china-journalist-zhang-zhan-sentenced-to-prison-again-on-baseless-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/news\/2025\/09\/china-journalist-zhang-zhan-sentenced-to-prison-again-on-baseless-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"China: Journalist Zhang Zhan sentenced to prison again on baseless charges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Responding to reports that Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan has been convicted of \u201cpicking quarrels and provoking trouble\u201d and sentenced to four years in prison, Amnesty International\u2019s China Director Sarah Brooks said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis second conviction for Zhang Zhan is a betrayal of China\u2019s stated priority of upholding the rule of law. Like lawyer Yu Wensheng and so many others, Zhang\u2019s commitment to defending human rights and her consistent refusal to keep silent \u2013 even after a prison sentence that put her health and life at risk \u2013 have made her a target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUntil the Chinese authorities are pressured to change vague and overly broad laws and held accountable for systematically depriving human rights defenders of their liberty, the future for human rights in the country remains grim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cZhang\u2019s baseless conviction should be quashed, and she should be immediately released. Pending release, she must be provided with access to counsel, her family and adequate healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChinese authorities must end their decades-long misuse of the criminal charge  of \u2018picking quarrels and provoking trouble\u2019.  And the international community, including China\u2019s bilateral partners, must make it a priority to not merely call for the release of Zhang and others unjustly detained, but actively use its leverage to ensure they will be freed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chinese journalist and activist Zhang Zhan was reportedly convicted of \u201cpicking quarrels and provoking trouble\u201d and sentenced to four years in jail following her trial on Friday 19 September at the Pudong New District People\u2019s Procuratorate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior reports indicated that Zhang has gone on hunger strike while in detention and has shown signs of having been forcibly fed. Her family and lawyer have been subjected to harassment and intimidation by authorities and are unable to share detailed updates about her situation. As a result, very little is known about her current health condition and other aspects of her case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhang Zhan was previously jailed on the same charge for reporting on the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan. A former lawyer, she travelled to Wuhan in February 2020 to provide on-the-ground information about what was happening there. She posted on social media about how government officials had detained independent reporters and harassed families of Covid-19 patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She went missing in Wuhan in May 2020. It later emerged that she had been taken by the Chinese authorities and detained in Shanghai, where she was convicted of \u201cpicking quarrels and provoking trouble\u201d after a sham trial. Zhang Zhan was released on 13 May 2024 after completing a four-year prison sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, she was subjected to strict surveillance and continuous harassment by the authorities after her release, and she was detained again less than four months later. Her arrest came shortly after she reportedly travelled to the northwestern province of Gansu to show solidarity with other human rights defenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her previous imprisonment, she went on a hunger strike that led to multiple hospitalizations and her weight dropped drastically to just 37 kilograms \u2014 half of what she weighed prior to her deprivation of liberty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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