US and EU demand China release citizen reporter Zhang Zhan, locked up for covering Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
- Zhang was jailed on Monday for her coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan, the initial epicentre of the pandemic
- EU also seeks release of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists arrested at sea as they tried to flee to Taiwan by speedboat in August
The United States and European Union both denounced China’s court system on Tuesday after a citizen journalist who reported on the early coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan was sentenced to four years in prison.
“The United States strongly condemns the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) sham prosecution and conviction of citizen journalist Zhang Zhan on December 28,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. “We call on the PRC government to release her immediately and unconditionally.”
A court in Shanghai found Zhang guilty Monday 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.
“Her hasty trial, to which foreign observers were denied access, shows how fearful the CCP is of Chinese citizens who speak the truth,” Pompeo said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.
Separately, an EU foreign policy spokesman, Peter Stano, also condemned the treatment of Zhang, saying that she had reportedly been “subject to torture and ill-treatment during her detention and her health condition has seriously deteriorated”.
