RSF - Reporters sans frontières

03/31/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/01/2026 03:25

China: Zhang Zhan denied her own lawyer as repression intensifies

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the latest measures preventing journalist Zhang Zhan from accessing legal counsel and the outside world. After her second conviction in September 2025 on trumped-up charges, she has now been denied the right to be represented by a lawyer of her own choosing, undermining her ability to appeal her unjust conviction.

According to RSF information, Zhang Zhan was denied access to a lawyer last week, obstructing her ability to appeal an unjust verdict with the support of independent legal counsel. On 19 September 2025, she was sentenced to four years in prison on the fabricated charge of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," following a closed-door trial. The verdict was confirmed through documents reviewed by RSF. Zhang Zhan remains on a partial hunger strike and urgently requires access to adequate medical care.

At least diplomats from at least seven countries and five activists who attempted to observe the proceedings were barredfrom entering and, in some cases, briefly detained. Lawyers' requests to meet with her have been systematically rejected since her second sentencing and her legal representatives have faced ongoing harassment by the authorities.

"We are outraged by the extent to which the Chinese authorities are seeking to intimidate and silence Zhang Zhan, an icon of press freedom in China. As if her arbitrary sentencing were not enough, they are now denying her the right to the legal counsel of her choosing, further undermining her ability to appeal. Zhang Zhan should be recognised as a courageous journalist who alerted the world to a deadly public health crisis, not imprisoned while her life remains at risk. We call on the international community to intensify pressure on Beijing to end its persecution of Zhang Zhan, ensure her safety and access to adequate medical care, and secure her immediate release.

Aleksandra Bielakowska
Advocacy Manager, RSF Asia-Pacific

The 2021 RSF Press Freedom Award laureate has been cut off from the outside worldfor more than a year, with her whereabouts and conditions kept secret. On the day of her trial at the Pudong New Area People's Court in Shanghai, diplomats from at least seven countrieswere denied entry. On 21 September, both the United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Commissioncondemned the sentencing of Zhang Zhan and called for her immediate and unconditional release.

Zhang was detained on 28 August 2024 and held at Shanghai's Pudong Detention Centre. This is her second prison term: she was first arrested in May 2020 for reporting from Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak, posting more than 100 videos online. Sentenced to four years that December, she nearly died while on hunger strike in protest of her mistreatment before being released in May 2024. Throughout her first imprisonment, RSF campaigned for her releaseand warned about her mistreatment in prison.

China, the world's biggest prison for journalists and press freedom defenders with at least 120 media workers currently behind bars, is ranked 178th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index.

Published on31.03.2026
RSF - Reporters sans frontières published this content on March 31, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on April 01, 2026 at 09:25 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]