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Zhang Zhan was denied access to a lawyer last week, obstructing her ability to appeal an unjust verdict with the support of independent legal counsel. On 19 September 2025, she was sentenced to four years in prison on the fabricated charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” following a closed-door trial. The verdict was confirmed through documents reviewed by RSF. Zhang Zhan remains on a partial hunger strike and urgently requires access to adequate medical care.
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Diplomats from at least seven countries and five activists who attempted to observe the proceedings were barred from entering and, in some cases, briefly detained. Lawyers' requests to meet with her have been systematically rejected since her second sentencing and her legal representatives have faced ongoing harassment by the authorities.
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Zhang was detained on 28 August 2024 and held at Shanghai’s Pudong Detention Centre. This is her second prison term: she was first arrested in May 2020 for reporting from Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak, posting more than 100 videos online. Sentenced to four years that December, she nearly died while on hunger strike in protest of her mistreatment before being released in May 2024. Throughout her first imprisonment, RSF campaigned for her release and warned about her mistreatment in prison.
China, the world’s biggest prison for journalists and press freedom defenders with at least 120 media workers currently behind bars, is ranked 178th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index.
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