Zhang Zhan, a lawyer and self-employed journalist from the city of Wuhan in China, was sentenced today (Monday) to four years in prison after criticizing the conduct of the regime in China around the corona plague in the city of Wuhan.
Jean was convicted of “swearing and causing trouble,” a charge often used against opponents of the regime and opposition activists in the country. State media reported that the journalist “distributed false information.”
The conviction, which was circulated this week in China, said that Jean “had been in contact with foreign and banned media outlets such as Free Asia Radio and the Epoch Times” and that she had spread false reports about what was happening in hospitals and the city of Wuhan during the closure.
The journalist’s lawyer, Zhang Kiki, claimed that she came to court in a wheelchair, apparently due to the cruel treatment she suffered during her arrest and that the young woman’s mother burst into tears as the sentence was read. The lawyer further claimed that Jean suffers from “psychological exhaustion and feels as if every day is an eternity.”
The 32-year-old journalist was held in harsh conditions after cracking down on a hunger strike at the prison. She lost 20 pounds and was bedridden by the guards.
Jean, along with other bloggers and journalists, exposed in real time the failures in managing the Corona outbreak crisis in China and caused the Beijing regime much embarrassment. The virus, which appeared in the city of Wuhan in December last year, claimed the lives of more than 4,000 Chinese, according to official figures.