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Urgent Action: Release gravely ill journalist Zhang Zhan

163 days left to demand change

Chinese journalist and human rights defender Zhang Zhan was sentenced to four years in prison on 19 September 2025. Since then, her health has deteriorated to an alarming level, prompting grave concerns for her life.

Zhang Zhan was convicted of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" after travelling to show solidarity with other human rights defenders in China's north-western Gansu Province.

In January 2025, she reportedly went on hunger strike to protest her detention. She is now suffering from serious gastric illness and has lost a dramatic amount of weight, leaving her extremely weak. Her condition is life-threatening and urgent intervention is critical.

Despite this, she is being refused access to her lawyer, making it incredibly difficult to document her situation and appeal her conviction.

This is not the first time Zhang Zhan has been arbitrarily detained. In May 2020, she went missing in Wuhan. It later emerged that she had been arrested for reporting on the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic and had been detained in Shanghai after a sham trial.

She remained in prison for four years, during which she went on a prolonged hunger strike that led to multiple hospitalisations – making her current state of health even more worrying.

Zhang Zhan has now spent more than five and a half years deprived of her liberty, solely for exercising her right to freedom of expression. Soon she could lose her life for it.

Contact the Chinese authorities today to demand that they urgently release Zhang Zhan and provide her with adequate, consent-informed healthcare.

Read the full Urgent Action here. (263.4 KB PDF)

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Target: Ambassador Zheng Zeguang

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Dear Ambassador Zheng Zeguang,

I am writing to express my grave concern for journalist and human rights defender Zhang Zhan (张展), whose health condition is cause for urgent alarm, while her human rights continue to be violated.

For many months now, there have been grave concerns for Zhang Zhan’s health and the adequacy of healthcare provided to her in custody. She is reported to be extremely weak, suffering from serious gastric illness, and to have become significantly thinner.

Zhang has also been on hunger strike against her arbitrary detention. As you may be aware, during her previous imprisonment, she went on a prolonged hunger strike that led to multiple hospitalisations, raising further concerns about the cumulative impact on her health.

Following her conviction in September 2025, it has been reported that her lawyers’ repeated requests to meet with her have been consistently refused, denying her meaningful access to legal counsel and the right to appeal. Her family and lawyer have also reportedly been subjected to harassment and intimidation by the authorities – another serious cause for concern.
 
14 May 2026 marks six years since Zhang Zhan’s first arrest, after which she served a four-year sentence following a sham trial – she was arrested again less than four months after her release and remains deprived of liberty to this day. This sombre anniversary underscores the iterative nature of the violations she has endured and the continued failure to remedy her situation.

I call on you to: 
 
•	Release Zhang Zhan immediately and unconditionally and ensure the convictions are quashed;  
•	Pending her release, ensure that Zhang Zhan has adequate access to qualified health professionals providing health care in compliance with medical ethics, including the principles of confidentiality, autonomy, and informed consent;
•	Ensure she can have access to her lawyers and family, and that she is not subject to torture or other ill-treatment; 
•	Stop harassing and threatening human rights defenders and those who support them, such as their families and lawyers.

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