Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan released

Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan has been released from prison after four years in prison.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) uploaded a short video on social media X on Wednesday (May 22, 2024). In the video, Zhang Zhan was wearing pajamas, which seemed to indicate that she had been released from prison. Zhang Zhan said softly in Chinese in the video: "At 5 o'clock in the morning on May 13, the police sent me back to Shanghai, to my brother's house. Thank you everyone for your help and concern for me. I hope everyone is okay. I really don't I know what to say.”

It is unclear who shot the video, with Reporters Without Borders saying it was released "through an intermediary," AFP reported. Reporters Without Borders said that Zhang Zhan is still under surveillance and his freedom is greatly restricted.

Zhang Zhan, born in 1983, graduated from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics and worked as a lawyer. After the outbreak of the coronavirus in 2020, Zhang Zhan visited Wuhan from Shanghai to report on the epidemic, and later uploaded multiple video clips shot in local hospitals, communities and other places.

In May 2020, Zhang Zhan was reportedly detained on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble." In December of the same year, he was sentenced to four years in prison by the court.