China: Zhang Zhan, imprisoned citizen journalist, nominated for RSF press freedom award
A pro-democracy activist calls for the release of Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan from the streets of Hong Kong on December 28, 2020. AP - Kin Cheung
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
According to the press freedom organization, the reports of Zhang Zhan broadcast on social networks were one of the "
main sources of independent information on the health situation in Wuhan at the start of the pandemic
" of Covid -19.
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With our correspondent in Beijing,
Stéphane Lagarde
Sentenced to four years in prison for
"
disturbing public order
" and "
spreading rumors
"
, Zhang Zhan began a hunger strike from the first days of his imprisonment.
Chained and force-fed according to her lawyer, the 38-year-old citizen journalist is severely underweight (40 kg for 1m77), her brother said last week.
The latter says he fears that she will not survive a longer incarceration.
Unlike
Chen Qiushe and other citizen journalists
present in Wuhan at the start of the pandemic, Zhang Zhan is still behind bars on Monday, November 8,
“
Journalists
'
Day
” in China
.
►
To read also: The "citizen journalist" Zhang Zhan sentenced to four years in prison
"Prize for courage"
Several of his supporters let it be known on Twitter that their health QR code on their smartphone (a sort of Chinese health pass) had
turned red this weekend to prevent them from moving
.
In recent days, Chinese activists discovered their "health code", ie app ostensibly tracking exposure to COVID-19, suddenly showed red alert whenever they plan to travel to big cities, start legal proceedings or visit imprisoned relative - thereby forcing them to cancel plans - https://t.co/dHFBCbH4c0
- Elson Tong (@elson_tong) November 7, 2021
Zhang Zhan is the first citizen journalist to be tried for her coverage of the first weeks of the epidemic in the capital of central China's Hubei province.
She refused to plead guilty knowing that her information was gathered firsthand from residents.
This is also what Reporters Without Borders said on Monday.
In her nomination for the 2021 Press Freedom Prize, the NGO salutes the courage of the journalist who resisted "
constant threats from the authorities
" to show through her reports in the streets and hospitals of Wuhan, the harassment to which some of the families of patients with Covid-19 were subjected.
►
To consult
: the list of nominees for the RSF freedom of the press award
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