Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan has been charged with “provoking and provoking trouble” and is now facing trial. According to sources with knowledge of the case, Zhang Zhan’s appointed defense attorney Wen Yu met with his client at the detention center on Thursday and told him that Zhang Zhan was under pressure and could not continue to represent him in the case. According to sources, Zhang Zhan has been on hunger strike for more than five months and is still on hunger strike.
He was arrested on May 14 in a hotel near the Wuhan Railway Station, and is now being held at the Pudong New District Detention Center in Shanghai, after traveling to Wuhan in mid-February as a citizen journalist and posting his daily observations on the Internet.
Zhang’s defense attorney Wen Yu, who visited the detention center the day before, told Radio Free Asia on Friday (Oct. 30) that Zhang is still on a hunger strike, and that her roommates take turns feeding her porridge, soup and other liquid food every day: “What I learned is that on Thursday (Oct. 29) afternoon, Mr. Wen Yu met with Zhang Zhan. Zhang Zhan said she continues to be on hunger strike, and people in the same warehouse continue to feed her. Zhang Zhan did not look thinner than the last time I saw her. For nearly a month, no one has approached Zhang Zhan in court for questioning. Lawyer Wen had to withdraw from representing Zhang Zhan because of official pressure. Zhang Zhan knows about this, and Zhang Zhan also knows that there are many friends out there who are very concerned about her.”
Our reporter called Lawyer Wen Yu to inquire about his meeting with Zhang Zhan, but Wen Yu said he was not available for an interview: “I am not available for an interview right now, sorry.”
Zhang Zhan’s physical condition is very worrying.
Wen Yu last met with Zhang Zhan on September 28. Zhang, 37, left Shanghai in mid-February to travel to Wuhan to gather information about the epidemic there and about people infected with the Xinguan epidemic, which he published in his own media. Three months after his arrest, Zhang was transferred to the prosecutor’s office for review and prosecution on August 18 on suspicion of provoking trouble, and to the Shanghai Pudong New District Court on September 18 for trial.
Wang Jianhong, director of Humanity China, a civil society organization that has been advocating for Zhang’s release for several months, told the station that Zhang’s physical condition is very worrisome: “She has been on a hunger strike for so long, and I don’t know what kind of damage she has done. Zhang Zhan’s condition has reached a critical stage. On September 18, her case has been transferred to the court.”
Wang Jianhong said that Zhang’s defense attorney was forced to terminate her appointment, which is reminiscent of the authorities’ illegal trial of Zhang Zhan: “I heard that one of her defense attorneys, Wen Yu, was also under a lot of pressure. I have heard that he is being pressured by the Guangzhou Judicial Bureau and Shanghai authorities to withdraw from the case. This information makes those of us who are concerned about Zhang Zhan’s case even more worried.”
Chinese netizens show solidarity with Zhang Zhan being interviewed by police
After Zhang Zhan’s arrest, many netizens at home and abroad appealed for him, urging the authorities to release him immediately. Wang Jianhong said that some netizens in China were interviewed and warned by the police for supporting Zhang Zhan: “In China, there were some brave netizens who wrote notes expressing their support, solidarity and admiration for Zhang Zhan, which I forwarded to Twitter. Some of the netizens who have climbed over the wall have been interviewed by the local National Security Bureau, and the authorities are so afraid of the voices of support for Zhang Zhan.”
Since last year, Zhang Zhan has been forwarding videos, articles and photos of Hong Kong’s “anti-sending China” protests on WeChat and other online platforms. Last September, Zhang Zhan was detained for 65 days by the Shanghai Huangpu Public Security Bureau on suspicion of provoking and provoking trouble for holding an umbrella on the streets of Shanghai and demanding the end of the socialist system and the downfall of the Communist Party.
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