China jails citizen journalist Zhang Zhan for four years over Wuhan coronavirus reports
- Court in Shanghai hands sentence down to Zhang after she was found guilty of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’
- Supporters denied entry to the courtroom to see Zhang, who has been on a hunger strike while awaiting trial and attended court in a wheelchair
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Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan sentenced to four years in jail for Wuhan coronavirus reports
Zhang, 37, was found guilty by Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court on Monday morning of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, a broadly defined offence which carries a maximum sentence of five years and is often used by police to stifle dissent.
“Zhang Zhan attended the trial in a wheelchair and was in poor health,” lawyer Zhang Keke said.
“She did not immediately say if she would appeal [against the sentence].”
On social media after the trial, Zhang Keke said: “[During the trial] the prosecutor only read out the list of evidence, without showing most of it, including the core evidence. Zhang Zhan said citizens’ speech should not be censored. But apart from that, she basically did not speak.”