Monday, December 28, 2020

Chinese citizen journalist jailed for four years for Wuhan virus reporting

Chinese citizen journalist jailed for four years for Wuhan virus reporting

Zhang Zhan was sentenced in a brief hearing in Shanghai's Pudong New District People's Court
Zhang Zhan was sentenced in a brief hearing in Shanghai's Pudong New District People's Court  Leo RAMIREZ AFP


Shanghai (AFP)

A Chinese citizen journalist was jailed for four years for her livestream reporting from Wuhan as the Covid-19 outbreak unfurled, her lawyer said Monday, almost a year after details of an "unknown viral pneumonia" surfaced in the central China city.

Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer, was sentenced at a brief hearing in a Shanghai court for allegedly "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" for her reporting in the chaotic initial stages of the outbreak.

Her live reports and essays were widely shared on social media platforms in February, grabbing the attention of authorities, who have punished eight virus whistleblowers so far as they defang criticism of the government's response to the outbreak.is society and this environment." 

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