Zhang Zhan, a Chinese citizen journalist, was arrested after covering Wuhan during this year’s New Crown Pneumonia epidemic and was later charged with provocation and nuisance. Zhang was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison by the Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court on Dec. 28. Zhang Zhan’s case was previously covered by the New York Times and other international mainstream media for its involvement in the New Crown epidemic and his prolonged hunger strike while in custody, and the news of his formal sentencing on Monday was quickly spread by Reuters, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Deutsche Presse-Agentur and other national news agencies.
The case of Zhang Zhan, who was charged with provocation and harassment, was heard on Monday at the Pudong New Area Court in Shanghai, where a large number of foreign media reporters went outside the court to cover the case, but were prevented from approaching by police officers. It is reported that Zhang Zhan’s lawyer, Ren Quanniu, said that the court pronounced the sentence, Zhang Zhan was sentenced to four years in prison. According to the indictment cited by Hong Kong Cable News China Group and Apple Daily, Zhang Zhan was accused of going to Wuhan in February this year, repeatedly posting false information through WeChat, Twitter and YouTube, and giving interviews to foreign media, committing the crime of provocation and nuisance. According to reports, the court hearing day to strengthen security, only Zhang Zhan’s parents allowed into the courtroom to listen to the trial. In addition, there are also from Japan, Europe and other journalists came to the court early in the morning to wait outside, after the police stationed outside the court began to block the reporters, and on the grounds that the reporters “filming the court”, to verify their identity, the two sides argued.
Zhang Zhan has been arguing her innocence, and sources said she was on a hunger strike in the detention center, where she was weakened and forced to be fed. Her other defense lawyer, Zhang Keke, also quoted Zhang as saying she would not plead guilty. Zhang Keke said in an interview after the verdict that Zhang is not in good condition and needs a wheelchair to appear in court. Zhang did not approve of the verdict, as she believes her comments should not be censored and charged with the crime. Zhang Keke said, Zhang Zhan sentenced to 4 years of such a sentence is relatively heavy, her parents were shocked after hearing the verdict, her mother even cried out after hearing the verdict. He said Zhang’s health is not good, and it is not yet known whether she will continue her hunger strike.
Despite heavy police security before and after the trial, a man in a wheelchair told Reuters that he had come from Henan to show his support for Zhang Zhan as a Christian, and that he had written Zhang Zhan’s name on a poster before police came to escort him away. After the news broke that Zhang Zhan had been sentenced to four years in prison for nuisance seeking for visiting the Wuhan epidemic, it was reported by many national news agencies and major foreign media in China, including Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and almost all mainstream media in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Japan, and other countries followed the story.
In the U.S., Bloomberg, USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, and other national and local newspapers reported on the event, while CNN, Fox News, CBS News, and other TV news outlets also began to report on the event.
In the UK, the BBC, the Guardian, the Financial Times, the Daily Telegraph and other media are also following the story. In France, the case of Zhang Zhan was covered by the French media, including Le Monde, Le Figaro, Echo, Libération, Le Parisien, and Le Crucifix. In the French-speaking world, many newspapers such as the Swiss newspaper Le Temps and the Belgian newspaper Le Soir also paid attention to the case. In the German-speaking region, the case was also covered by Der Spiegel, Pictorial, Die Welt, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the German TV One Today news program and the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
Italian media such as La Repubblica, Corriere della Sera and La Stampa and Spanish media such as El País, ” El Mundo ” and La Vanguardia also reported the story. Also covering Zhang Zhan’s sentence were Qatar’s Al Jazeera, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada’s The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Montreal Daily News, Turkish Radio and Television, South Korea’s SBS TV, Japan’s Sankei Shimbun and Nikkei Asia, and different national media such as India Today and Bangkok Post.
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