Chinese citizen journalist jailed for four years for highlighting poor COVID-19 handling

A Chinese court on Monday sentenced a citizen journalist for reporting on COVID-19 handling in the initial days of the outbreak and criticising the authorities for shortcomings. According to the South China Morning Post, Zhang Zhan has been handed a four-year jail-term by Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court for provoking trouble and picking up quarrels. The former lawyer is being punished for exposing the mishandling of the outbreak by the Chinese authorities. 

Read: China's Crackdown On Jack Ma Worsens, Pressure Mounts On Ant Group To Shake Up Its Lending

'Citizens' speech should not be censored' 

Zhan was arrested in mid-May for a live-stream she had done on social media back in February, where she reportedly criticised the authorities. Zhan's social media reportage caught the attention of the authorities, and she was arrested by the police. According to the report, when Zhan was produced in front of the judge on Monday for the sentencing hearing she said that "citizens speech should not be censored". She did not utter a single word apart from this one sentence. 

Read: China Sentences Lawyer Who Reported On Outbreak To 4 Years

Zhan was brought in a wheelchair to the court on Monday because of poor health attributed to her in-jail hunger strike to protest against the arrest. Zhan was reportedly fed by authorities using a nasal pipe after concerns regarding her deteriorating health grew on social media. Several people poured in from all over the country to show solidarity with Zhan, however, they were stopped by the police to enter the court premises and attend the open court hearing. 

Read: Indian Naval Ship Conducts 'passage Exercise' With Vietnamese Navy In South China Sea

Zhan is not the first individual in China who became a victim of the state-sponsored crackdown in order to stop information flow on the COVID-19 outbreak. Several people since the start of the pandemic have been detained or jailed in China for their efforts to expose the poor handling of the authorities. The Communist Party of China uses censorship and other methods to suppress information flow in the country and to manipulate citizens' thought process. 

Read: China Lowers Age Of Criminal Liability To 12 For Some Crimes