EU Urges China To Release Journalist Covering COVID-19 Outbreak In Wuhan

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th December, 2020) The European Union calls on China to release journalist Zhang Zhan, who reported on the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan earlier this year, the EU External Action Service (EEAS) said on Tuesday.

On Monday, a court in Shanghai sentenced the journalist to four years in prison on charges of disseminating information that provokes conflict and troubles.

"The European Union calls for the immediate release of Ms Zhang Zhan," the official statement of EEAS spokesperson read.

The EU called for the release of all jailed Chinese journalists and human rights activists, expressing concerns over the "restrictions on freedom of expression, on access to information, and intimidation and surveillance of journalists, as well as detentions, trials and sentencing of human rights defenders, lawyers, and intellectuals in China.

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Zhang covered the outbreak from inside Wuhan in February, exposing, in particular, the brutal methods deployed by the Chinese authorities to contain the spread of the virus, as well as the state of affairs in local hospitals.