Overview
- A Shanghai court issued the new four-year sentence for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” according to RSF and a human-rights network.
- Security forces prevented diplomats, journalists and activists from entering the courthouse during Friday’s hearing, according to multiple reports.
- RSF condemned the verdict as “absolutely shocking” and called for Zhang’s immediate release through international diplomatic pressure.
- Zhang previously served four years after a 2020 conviction for documenting the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak as a citizen journalist.
- She was freed in May 2024, then disappeared in late August before being taken back into police custody, with observers linking the case to her social-media support for activists.