Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who was sentenced to four years in prison for reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, was due to be released on May 13th. However, it appears that she has not regained her freedom as expected. It is speculated that she has been illegally detained by the Shanghai Public Security Bureau after her release, but friends and supporters have no way of knowing her exact whereabouts.
Reports indicate that Zhang Zhan’s family has been warned not to have contact with the outside world. Friends who were planning to pick her up upon her release have been warned of surveillance, with the police forbidding them from going to the prison or Zhang Zhan’s residence.
A former representative lawyer of Zhang Zhan quoted by The Guardian said, after her release, Zhang Zhan may face two possibilities: she may be sent home, or she may be sent somewhere else for continued soft detention for one to three months. “Based on my experience dealing with so-called sensitive individuals, there will be a period of time when they are not allowed to have contact with the outside world and their movement will be restricted.”
Zhang Zhan’s conditions after release from prison are worrying. Despite having served her full sentence, there are doubts about whether the Chinese government is willing to restore her freedom according to the law. In China, journalists detained for their work often face surveillance even after release and are usually prohibited from traveling abroad.
This “pseudo-release” practice violates Article 37 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, which protects the personal freedom of citizens. It also contravenes international human rights law regarding freedom of movement and personal liberty.
When a prisoner is released after serving their sentence, there are no further provisions in Chinese criminal law to restrict personal freedom other than the deprivation of political rights. The most severe form of “pseudo-release” is similar to the “enforced disappearance” defined in the United Nations’s International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
Zhang Zhan is a hero in the hearts of the Chinese people. She should never have been arrested, never should have been sentenced to prison, and certainly should not have been monitored after her release.
At the age of 40, Zhang Zhan had previously obtained a lawyer’s license but had it revoked for participating in rights defense activities. In February 2020, she bravely went to Wuhan to report on the COVID-19 epidemic as a citizen journalist, risking infection. When Wuhan and other parts of China were under complete lockdown, covering up the pandemic, she was one of the few independent journalists on the scene.
She posted the latest information on social media, releasing over 100 videos. In the critical situation faced by Wuhan and the country, she stepped forward, seeking the truth and wanting to do something for her compatriots. She wanted to help her compatriots understand the true circumstances so they could have a minimal response. But her efforts were met with suppression by the authorities.
Seven months later, the People’s Procuratorate of Pudong New Area in Shanghai suggested a sentence of four to five years for Zhang Zhan. The judge did not appreciate her going to Wuhan to collect facts about the pandemic and report them, despite the severity of the situation being completely suppressed by the Chinese government. She was sentenced to four years on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
Clearly, both prosecution and verdict were not decisions made independently by judiciary.
She refused to plead guilty and went on a hunger strike in prison, leading to a deterioration in her health. During first few months of detention, she nearly died from hunger strike protesting her innocence. Authorities forcibly fed her through nasal tube and put her in handcuffs; at that point her weight dropped from 74.8 kilograms to around 40 kilograms. Zhang Zhan wisely chose to end her hunger strike after learning that her mother had fallen ill following her imprisonment.
Zhang Zhan’s imprisonment has garnered sympathy and strong attention from the international community. British activist Wang Jianhong collected stories and comments about Zhang Zhan in the book “Free Zhang Zhan.” In recognition of Zhang Zhan’s contributions to society, she was awarded the 2020 Lin Zhao Freedom Award by the Chinese Aid Association, the 2021 Difference Day Honorary Title for Freedom of Expression by the Free University of Brussels and the Press Freedom Award for courage by Reporters Without Borders.
China Aid Association continues to monitor Zhang Zhan’s situation until she enjoys full freedom. Whether Zhang Zhan is truly free after her release depends on her actual circumstances. There is a call for the international community to pressure China to abandon its illegal surveillance of Zhang Zhan and restore full freedom to Zhang Zhan and all other detained journalists and defenders of press freedom.
