The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of China on 23 December 2025. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Regrettably, the Government did not reply within this timeframe. If a reply is received, it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the recent detention and sentencing to additional four years of imprisonment of Chinese journalist and woman human rights defender Ms. Zhang Zhan, who has reportedly been held incommunicado with no information available regarding her place of detention or current health condition.
Ms. Zhang Zhan is a journalist, woman human rights defender and former lawyer. Her law license was reportedly revoked by the authorities in response to her participation in various human rights activities, including the signing of petitions and her reporting on the early handling of the COVID19 pandemic. She has used her legal knowledge to assist other human rights defenders in seeking legal redress, including in relation to demonstrations opposing the national security law in Hong Kong. In this context, Ms. Zhang was allegedly subjected to arbitrary detention on multiple occasions, including in 2020 when she was detained for her reporting from Wuhan, sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, and reportedly subjected to ill-treatment and prolonged force-feeding during a hunger strike that resulted in severe health deterioration.
The detention of Ms. Zhang Zhan was deemed arbitrary by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in its Opinion No. 25/2021, adopted at its 91st session, and found to fall under categories I, II, III and V. The Working Group requested her immediate release and that she be accorded her enforceable right to compensation and other reparations. Moreover, this case has previously been raised in communications CHN 12/2021 and CHN 15/2024.
ALLEGATIONS
Context
In early February 2020, Ms. Zhang Zhan, a citizen journalist and former lawyer from Shanghai, travelled to Wuhan, Hubei Province, to report independently on the COVID19 pandemic and the measures taken by the authorities to contain it. Ms. Zhang published information and videos on social media platforms including WeChat, Twitter and YouTube, where she uploaded 122 videos on various topics related to the pandemic. Her posts included interviews with Wuhan residents, footage of hospitals and crematoria, and commentary on the impact of the lockdown measures and the treatment of other journalists covering the situation.
On 14 May 2020, Ms. Zhang was reported missing in Wuhan, one day after she had published a video critical of the authorities’ response to the pandemic and the use of intimidation tactics against residents. On 15 May 2020, she was confirmed to have been detained by the Wuhan authorities and subsequently transferred to Shanghai, where she was held in custody by the Pudong branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau on allegations of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” On 19 June 2020, her arrest was approved by the Pudong New District Procuratorate.
During her pretrial detention, Ms. Zhang reportedly went on a hunger strike to protest her detention and was forcefed through a naso-gastric tube while being shackled and with her hands restrained for extended periods. On 15 September 2020, she was indicted by the Pudong New District Procuratorate for “spreading false information” and “maliciously stirring up the Wuhan epidemic situation.” On 28 December 2020, Ms. Zhang was then convicted of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” under article 293 of the Chinese Criminal Law and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment by the Pudong New District Court. She was brought to the courtroom in a wheelchair due to her weakened condition following her hunger strike and was subsequently transferred to Shanghai Women’s Prison to serve her sentence. Ms. Zhang reportedly declined to appeal her conviction.
Between July and August 2021, Ms. Zhang was hospitalized in a prison hospital due to malnutrition and gastric complications, during which she was reportedly tied to her bed and forcefed. She was later transferred back to Shanghai Women’s Prison. Her family was permitted only limited contact with her, including one phone call in August 2021 and two video calls, in February and October 2021.
Ms. Zhang was reportedly suffering from severe malnutrition, a gastric ulcer and oedema in her lower limbs. Her weight was reported to have fallen below 40 kilograms, and she was reportedly unable to walk or raise her head without assistance.
New detention and sentence
Following the completion of her sentence in May 2024, Ms. Zhang was reportedly again detained and tried before the Pudong New Area People’s Court in Shanghai on 19 September 2025, on the same charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” According to the information received, the trial was held behind closed doors, and diplomatic representatives from at least seven countries were denied entry to the court. Several individuals attempting to observe the proceedings were allegedly detained temporarily.
Ms. Zhang was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. Since her rearrest, she has allegedly been held incommunicado, with no public information regarding her place of detention or current state of health. Her family members have reportedly been subjected to official pressure and surveillance.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express deep concern that the arrest, detention, and sentencing of Ms. Zhang Zhan appear to be directly related to her legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression through her independent reporting on the COVID19 pandemic in Wuhan.
We wish to refer the Chinese Government to article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which protects the right of every individual to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds. The arrest and detention of Ms. Zhang in apparent retaliation for exercising this right are incompatible with this provision. We recall that, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, as a signatory of the ICCPR, China has an obligation not to carry out conduct that would defeat the object and purpose of the Covenant.
We further express concern regarding the use of broadly and vaguely worded provisions such as “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” to unduly criminalize the legitimate exercise of this right. We recall that any restriction under article 19(3) of the ICCPR must be clearly defined, pursue a legitimate aim, and be strictly necessary and proportionate (CCPR/C/GC/34, para.25). Moreover, invoking such laws to suppress or withhold information of legitimate public interest—such as information relating to the COVID19 pandemic, as in Ms. Zhang’s case—is incompatible with article 19(3) (CCPR/C/GC/34, para.30).
We would also like to stress that Ms. Zhang’s detention, prosecution, and sentencing may be indicative of a broader pattern of repression aimed at silencing journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and other individuals engaging in activities perceived as critical of the authorities. We deeply regret that Ms. Zhang has reportedly been held in prolonged incommunicado detention, with severely limited access to her family and legal counsel, solely for exercising her fundamental freedoms of opinion and expression and for conducting legitimate human rights work. Such practices risk creating a chilling effect, discouraging others from freely reporting, advocating for human rights, or expressing dissenting views. We would like to emphasize that the lack of information regarding Ms. Zhang’s place of detention raises issues pursuant to articles 6, 7, 9, 16, read alone and in conjunction with article 2.3 of the ICCPR. In this regard, we wish to recall that in order to constitute an enforced disappearance, a deprivation of liberty must be followed by a refusal to acknowledge such deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law, regardless of the duration of the said deprivation of liberty or concealment. The situation of Ms. Zhang’s relatives, and the fact that they would have been subjected to pressure and surveillance, raise issues pursuant to articles 7 and 17, read alone and in conjunction with article 2.3 of the ICCPR.
We further remind the Government that the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found the deprivation of liberty of Ms. Zhang Zhan to be arbitrary, in contravention of articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11(1), 19, and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and falling within categories I, II, III, and V. We express serious concern regarding her alleged second detention, which could equally amount to arbitrary deprivation of liberty, in violation of article 9 of the ICCPR and article 3 of the UDHR, which guarantee the right to liberty and security of person.
Reports that Ms. Zhang was tried behind closed doors, denied access to legal counsel, and held incommunicado also raise concerns under article 14 of the ICCPR, the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment (principles 11, 16, and 18), and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules), particularly rules 43 and 58, which prohibit prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement and require that detainees be allowed regular contact with the outside world.
We also express alarm at allegations that Ms. Zhang has been subjected to enforced disappearance, despite the jus cogens absolute prohibition of this crime under international law. Under international law, State authorities are obliged to take all necessary measures to protect the rights of persons deprived of their liberty, as they assume responsibility for their lives, physical integrity, and wellbeing.
We recall that, in its 2024 general allegation, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances reiterated its concern over the use of prolonged incommunicado detention and enforced disappearance, and regretted the lack of information provided by the Government on measures to ensure that families can exercise their right to know the truth about the fate and whereabouts of their relatives. The High Commissioner for Human Rights publicly encouraged during the Human Rights Council of March 2024 the revision of the vague offence of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” in article 293 of the Criminal Code and called for the release of human rights defenders, lawyers, and others arbitrarily detained under such legislation.
We further note with concern that the judgment in Ms. Zhang’s case has reportedly not been made publicly available by the authorities, contrary to the Human Rights Committee’s general comment No. 32, paragraph29, which clarifies that “[e]ven in cases in which the public is excluded from the trial, the judgment, including the essential findings, evidence and legal reasoning must be made public”. According to information received regarding the contents of the judgment, the court’s decision reportedly fails to specify what statements Ms. Zhang made, why those statements were false, or how posts on overseas social media platforms caused “serious disruption to public order” within China. If accurate, such a judgment would fail to meet the requirement that convictions be supported by “essential findings, evidence and legal reasoning”, and would impair the effective exercise of Ms. Zhang’s right to have her conviction and sentence reviewed by a higher tribunal under ICCPR article 14(5), which presupposes access to “written judgments, duly reasoned” (communication No. 377/1989, Currie v. Jamaica).”
Finally, we emphasize that States have an obligation to promptly provide accurate information on the detention and location of persons deprived of liberty, including transfers, to their family members, legal representatives, or others with a legitimate interest in such information.
