Chinese citizen journalist arrested after reporting on coronavirus from Wuhan
- Zhang Zhan is being held in police custody in Shanghai’s Pudong district on public disturbance charges, her father confirms
- The 37-year-old live-streamed from the outbreak epicentre in February and wrote an article critical of the authorities’ response
The family was notified on Friday of Zhang Zhan’s arrest for allegedly “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, a catch-all charge often used by the authorities to detain dissidents in China. The arrest was approved by prosecutors in Shanghai’s Pudong district.
Zhang, 37, was in police custody in the district, according to the official notice given to her parents.
“I’m very worried about her health and the detention conditions, and her mother is heartbroken,” Zhang’s 63-year-old father, who declined to give his name, said by phone.
“We don’t have any connections or money to get her out – we’re in an utterly powerless situation.”
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Coronavirus: Chinese citizen journalist detained after live-streaming from Wuhan
Shanghai resident Zhang had travelled to Wuhan – where the first cases of the new coronavirus were reported late last year – in early February. She live-streamed what she saw in the city on Twitter, YouTube and other social media platforms. Both Twitter and YouTube are blocked in China.