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BEIJING: A citizen journalist detained in China after reporting from ground zero on Wuhan’s Covid-19 will face trial later this month, her lawyer said on Friday, as fears for her health grow.
The coronavirus first appeared in central China at the end of last year, and Beijing has faced allegations that it covered up the initial outbreak and silenced the first whistleblowers.
Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer, traveled to Wuhan in February and live-streamed her experiences on social media.
He also wrote essays criticizing the government’s response, including the strict blockade of millions of people.
Zhang was detained in May and is charged with “sparking fights and causing trouble,” according to a court notice seen by AFP, a charge commonly used to crack down on dissidents, with a maximum prison sentence of five years.
The 37-year-old’s lawyers received a notice earlier this week that the hearing will be held in a Shanghai court on December 28.
Zhang went on a hunger strike in June, her lawyers said, and was force-fed through a nasal tube.
His lawyer Zhang Keke wrote in a note that was circulated on social media that his health was extremely poor and he suffered from headaches, dizziness and stomach pain.
“Restricted 24 hours a day, needs help to go to the bathroom,” he wrote.
“She feels psychologically drained, like every day is a torment … she said that her current physical state is too difficult to bear.”
The lawyer said she has vowed not to stop her hunger strike, despite repeated pleas from her family, friends and lawyers.
Zhang criticized the initial response in Wuhan, writing in a February essay that the government “didn’t give the people enough information, then it just closed the city.”
“This is a gross violation of human rights,” he wrote.
Zhang is the first to face the trial of four citizen journalists detained by authorities earlier this year after reporting from Wuhan.
Previous attempts by AFP to contact the other three, Chen Qiushi, Fang Bin and Li Zehua, were unsuccessful.
