UN Condemns China's Four Year Sentence For Journalist Zhang Zhan, Calls For 'Immediate Release'

Geneva: The United Nations Human Rights Office has raised concern over the sentencing of Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who earlier reported from Wuhan during the coronavirus outbreak and has now been imprisoned for four more years on charges of“picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”

The UNHR termed these charges as "vague and ill-defined" and demanded the immediate release of the journalist.  UN spokesperson Jeremy Laurence described the latest conviction as "deeply disturbing" and called for her“immediate and unconditional release.”

The precise details of Zhang's new charge have not been made public, but it is believed to be linked to her social media activity, as per the UNHR office statement. 

UN has also raised concerns regarding the conduct of trial has no independent observers were allowed to attend the meeting. Independent observers were not allowed to attend her hearing, which has raised concerns about the fairness of the trial.

"This is the second time Zhang has been convicted and subjected to a custodial sentence for this offence," Laurence said.“We have raised our concerns with the authorities on a number of cases involving journalists, bloggers and human rights defenders, including Zhang, who have been charged over and/or convicted for criminal acts in relation to what appears to be the exercise of their fundamental rights, protected by international law.”

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has also repeatedly raised objections to China's use of the "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" charge.

According to the UN rights office, Turk has warned that the law's broad wording gives it a "wide scope of potential application" against people exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association.

"He (Volker Turk) calls for its repeal and for an immediate moratorium on its use," the statement said.

Zhang Zhan was previously jailed for her reporting during the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed)

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