Chinese journalist jailed over Covid reports 'close to death'

Zhang Zhan was jailed for her coverage of Wuhan's Covid lockdown last year

A citizen journalist jailed for her coverage of China's initial response to Covid in Wuhan is close to death after going on hunger strike, her family said, prompting renewed calls from rights groups for her immediate release.

Zhang Zhan, 38, a former lawyer, travelled to Wuhan in February 2020 to report on the chaos at the pandemic's epicentre, questioning authorities' handling of the outbreak in her smartphone videos.

She is now severely underweight and "may not live for much longer", her brother Zhang Ju wrote last week on a Twitter account verified by people close to the matter.

"She may not survive the coming cold winter," Zhang Ju wrote, adding that he had urged his sister in letters to "take care of herself".

Zhang Ju's posts sparked fresh calls for his sister's release, with Amnesty International urging the Chinese government Thursday to "release her immediately so that she can end her hunger strike and receive the appropriate medical treatment she desperately needs".

Someone close to the citizen journalist, who declined to be named, told AFP the family had asked to meet Zhang more than three weeks ago at the Shanghai women's prison where she is being held but had not received a response.

The Shanghai prison also offered no response when approached by AFP.

China's foreign ministry on Friday did not comment on Zhang's condition, but dismissed calls from rights groups for her release as "anti-China political manipulation."

Zhang now cannot walk or even raise her head without help, according to Reporters without Borders (RSF).

"She was only performing her duty as a reporter and should never have been detained, not to mention receive a four-year prison sentence."

The government has put forward a narrative crediting the Communist Party with returning life almost to normal even as death tolls and infections continue to explode in the rest of the world.

Zhang is among a group of four citizen journalists  -- including Chen Qiushi, Fang Bin and Li Zehua -- detained after reporting from Wuhan.

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