Chinese COVID Whistleblower Journalist Receives Additional Prison Sentence

Posted September 24, 2025

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team

Chinese journalist and whistleblower Zhang Zhan, 42, served four years in prison after documenting the early days of COVID-19 from Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic. According to Reporters Without Borders on September 19, authorities sentenced her to four additional years in prison on the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” in China.¹

Zhang Zhan Originally Went to Prison in December 2020

This was the same charge that landed her in prison in December 2020 after she posted first-hand pandemic reporting during the initial spread of Coronavirus, as reported by the international press freedom group identified by its French initials, RSF.²

The Journalism in Question

The reporting included personal accounts, videos of crowded hospitals, and footage of empty streets that showcased a more calamitous scenario than official reports described early on.

Zhang’s Former Lawyer Commented

Zhang’s lawyer at the time, Ren Quanniu, said he believed she was “being persecuted for exercising her freedom of speech.”

Quanniu recently posted on X that “the new charges were based on Zhang’s comment on overseas websites and she should not be deemed guilty.”³

Zhang’s Hunger Strike Following the Arrest

After police arrested Zhang, she went on a month-long hunger strike. Police eventually bound her hands and force-fed her with a tube, according to court documents accessed by Reuters.⁴

Zhang Was Released in 2024 Then Detained Months Later

In May 2024, authorities released Zhang and detained her again three months later. They formally arrested her and sent her to Shanghai’s Pudong Detention Center.

RSF Asia-Pacific advocacy manager Aleksandra Bielakowska commented, “She should be celebrated globally as an ‘information hero,’ not trapped in brutal prison conditions.”⁵

Jailing Journalists

RSF and CNN report that “China is the world’s biggest jailer of journalists, with at least 124 media workers behind bars…The nation ranked 178th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index.”⁶

Beh Lih Yi, Asia-Pacific director for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said, “This is the second time Zhang Zhan has faced trial on baseless charges that amount to nothing more than a blatant act of persecution for her journalism work. Chinese authorities must put an end to the arbitrary detention of Zhang, drop all charges, and free her immediately.”

Constantine Cannon Has Significant Experience Representing Whistleblowers

“Whistleblowers like Zhang Zhan remind us that exposing the truth often takes tremendous courage and can take many forms,” said Constantine Cannon attorney Ginger Buck. “Our firm has extensive experience representing whistleblowers through every stage of their cases and works to bring wrongdoing to light effectively and safely.”

If you would like to learn more about whistleblower programs in the United States, our work representing whistleblowers, our whistleblower successes, or what it means to be a whistleblower, please contact us. We will connect you with our Constantine Cannon whistleblower team for a free and confidential consultation.