BANGKOK: It is unknown where a Chinese citizen journalist who was imprisoned for four years for his coverage of Wuhan’s outbreak’s initial stages of the crisis was going to be released on Monday.
Zhang Zhan, who was serving her statement at Shanghai’s Women Prison after receiving a four-year prison sentence for “picking up quarrels and provoking trouble,” a faintly defined term frequently used in political cases, has completed her word.
Zhang’s former attorney Ren Quanniu claimed he was unable to speak with her father and that he was concerned that the authorities may have placed her under another form of control.
Ren and Jane Wang, another international advocate who launched the Free Zhang Zhan battle in the United Kingdom, confirmed that Monday was the end of her four-year word.
After the government put it on full lockdown in the first few days of the pandemic, Zhang was one of a small group of citizen journalists who made the trip to Wuhan, key China. As the consumer became more concerned about the then-unseen coronavirus, she toured the city and documented public life.
Fang Bin, one of the citizen journalists who documented the outbreak’s earlier stages, also spent time in jail for releasing photos of the outbreak’s crowded facilities and body. Fang was released next April after serving a three-year jail sentence.
Chen Qiushi, another member journalist, disappeared in February 2020 while filming in Wuhan. Chen in September 2021 resurfaced on a friend’s life video feed on YouTube, saying he had suffered from depression but did not provide information about his disappearance.
Zhou fought against starvation while she was incarcerated and spent some time in the 20th century in a hospital.
Zhang’s community has been under the influence of police while she is serving time in jail, and her parents have turned down media interviews. At times, her household was unable to reach her at the jail via telephone.
Shen Yanqiu, who had planned to go with Zhang’s home to get her at the jail, declined to speak to The Associated Press, saying she had been “invited to consume tea”, a word for a police investigation.
Calling to Zhang’s nephew went unanswered. The Shanghai Prison Administration office’s invites even went unanswered.
Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said,” I’m never aware of the situation,” when questioned on Monday.
In China, the rhinovirus is still a contentious issue. After years of demotions and losses, a Chinese professor who was the first to release a series of the Covid-19 disease protested in the first week of May.
The authorities froze domestic and international initiatives to track the spread of the virus from the outbreak’s initial months, according to an Associated Press investigation.
