Journalist who reported on Wuhan COVID-19 outbreak wins human rights prize in prison

Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who brought the realities of the early COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan to the world's attention, has been honored with the inaugural Liu Xiaobo Human Rights Prize. The award was presented jointly to Zhang and German pastor Roland Kuehne, known for his work documenting the Tiananmen Square democracy movement, at a ceremony in Leipzig, Germany, on the 9th anniversary of Liu Xiaobo's death.

Zhang, a former lawyer, traveled to Wuhan in February 2020, documenting the city's lockdown conditions, hospitals overflowing with patients, and desolate streets. Her reports, shared via WeChat, Twitter, and YouTube, criticized China's information control and restrictions on civil liberties. Authorities arrested her in May 2020, and a Shanghai court sentenced her to four years in prison in December of that year for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble." Reports indicated she suffered severe health deterioration due to a hunger strike and forced feeding during her detention.

After completing her sentence in May 2024, Zhang was detained again in August for supporting labor rights activist Zhang Panqing. In September, a Shanghai court handed down another four-year sentence, accusing her of spreading "false information" on overseas social media platforms.

At the award ceremony, an empty chair, symbolizing Zhang, was placed next to the empty chair that represented Liu Xiaobo during the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. Chinese-born novelist Yan Geling, accepting the award on behalf of the imprisoned Zhang, conveyed her message: "Freedom is never free. I hope this country changes."

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Freedom is never free. I hope this country changes.