Zhang Zhan, a Chinese Journalist Imprisoned for Her Reporting on Covid-19

Journalist Zhang Zhan, who had been imprisoned for four years for her independent investigative work on the early days of the Covid-19 outbreak in the city of Wuhan in central China, has been detained again.

On September 1st, the independent news site Weiquanwang revealed that Zhang Zhan was being held in the Pudong detention center in Shanghai. She was apprehended by police on August 28 while on her way to her hometown in northwest China. Since then, she has not responded to phone calls or updated her social media accounts, which she had recently resumed using.

The reasons for her detention remain unclear, but in the weeks leading up to her arrest, Zhang Zhan had shared information about the harassment of other activists on social media in China. She had also traveled to Gansu province to persuade the mother of a recently arrested activist to sign a proxy.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is alarmed by recent developments in the ongoing persecution of Zhang Zhan by the Chinese regime. After barely surviving a hunger strike during her first period of detention and living under close state surveillance since her release in May, it is clear that Chinese authorities want to suppress Zhang Zhan for her work as an independent journalist.

Now more than ever, it is urgent that the international diplomatic community intervene with Beijing to ensure Zhang Zhan’s safety and secure her immediate release. Your donation is of the utmost importance in supporting RSF’s campaigns to assist journalists like Zhang Zhan, who struggle daily to do their journalistic work and provide the world with reliable information. Thank you for your support.