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The case was quickly closed. Shortly after the trial began Monday morning in Shanghai’s Pudong Industrial District, the verdict was passed: Journalist Zhang Zhan was sentenced to four years in prison for “spreading false information” after reporting criticism about the surveillance methods of the authorities to contain the corona virus in the metropolis of Wuhan. The maximum penalty was five years.
Zhang denied the accusation. He has received all the first-hand information from the residents of Wuhan.
The live reports that Zhang had distributed via WeChat, Twitter, and the YouTube video channel as of February 2020 became very popular. Therefore, the authorities targeted the woman. On May 15, the 37-year-old former lawyer suddenly disappeared without a trace in Wuhan. It was later revealed that she is in Shanghai police custody. According to court documents, the journalist was charged with “fueling controversy and unrest” with her reporting, an accusation that dissidents, activists and journalists in China often face when they have lost favor with government agencies.
Zhang was charged two weeks ago and appeared before the People’s Court on Monday. Except for a few close family members and friends, no spectators were allowed. People who had gathered in front of the building in the morning hours, including some foreign diplomats, were expelled by security agents, according to The Guardian newspaper, citing eyewitnesses.
In a wheelchair, bald shaved
Zhang himself appeared clean-shaven and in a wheelchair in the courtroom. His health condition is “extremely bad,” said his lawyer Zhang Keke. The journalist has lost 15 to 20 kilos since her arrest. She feels “psychologically drained, as if every day is torture.” The blogger went on a hunger strike in June and was reportedly force-fed. Zhang, who is in solitary confinement, has been forced to wear shackles and her hands have been continuously handcuffed for more than three months. There is great concern for his health and his physical and mental integrity, warn human rights organizations.
In Wuhan, the corona virus was first detected in humans late last year. On January 23, the city and later the entire region were completely cordoned off, residents were unable to leave their apartments and were meticulously monitored by authorities via the Internet. The virus was largely rejected in China itself due to rigorous isolationist and quarantine measures. The country’s leadership has been praising his approach for months as a success story that should not be crossed out. After Zhang’s sentencing, half a dozen more journalists await trial. Among them are Fang Bin, whose whereabouts have been unknown since his arrest in February, and Chen Mei and Cai Wei, who will be tried in Beijing.
After escaping from court
Ten Hong Kong citizens who tried to flee to Taiwan out of fear of the new security law also face harsh prison terms. Among them is Andy Li, a leading figure in the democracy movement. The court charged eight of the defendants with illegally crossing the border. Two other defendants were also charged with organizing illegal border crossings. All appeared before the judge for the first time on Monday in the city of Shenzhen, in southern China. You belong to the “Hong Kong 12”, a group of twelve activists who were arrested, arrested and taken to China in August while fleeing in a speedboat. This process also takes place behind closed doors, Western journalists and diplomats were undesirable.
The State Security Law, which came into force in June this year in the Special Administrative Region, is directed against activities that Beijing considers subversive, separatist or conspiratorial.(what / dpa / red.)
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