European Union calls for immediate release of Chinese journalist who reported COVID-19 in Wuhan

Brussels – The European Union (EU) on Tuesday called for the “immediate” release of Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan, whom a Shanghai court sentenced yesterday four years in prison for its coverage in the early days of COVID-19 in Wuhan City.

“EU calls for immediate release of Ms Zhang Zhan,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs spokesman Josep Borrell, who extended the request to a dozen lawyers and human rights defenders currently working in prison. from China.

Zhang has been in pre-trial detention since her arrest in May last year and was convicted yesterday of “provoking altercations and creating problems”.

The spokesman added that “according to credible sources, Ms. Zhang was tortured and ill-treated during detention, and her health deteriorated severely,” so it is “crucial,” he said, to receive medical attention.

According to official documents published in November, the journalist was accused of sharing “false information” on social networks such as Twitter, YouTube or Wechat (Chinese WhatsApp) and of giving interviews to foreign media.

Zhang had previously been arrested last year for supporting protests in Hong Kong.