A citizen journalist who informed the world about the outbreak of the corona virus in the Chinese city of Wuhan has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Zhang Zhen, a 37-year-old former lawyer, has been in custody since his arrest in May, according to the BBC.
He was initially accused of arguing and harassing social workers in China.
Zhang Zhen is not the first citizen journalist to have difficulty reporting on the virus-infected Wuhan.
In February, three citizen journalists went missing in China, one of whom was Li Zhihua, who appeared in April and said he was in quarantine.
It was later revealed that Chen Kuishi was under government surveillance, while a third journalist, Fang Bin, is still missing.
The Chinese administration has been accused of using various tactics to silence social activists who have spoken out against its actions.
According to the indictment against Zhang Zhen, the citizen journalist went to Wuhan in February, where he reported on various news items.
According to the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), an NGO, their reports include the detention of other independent journalists and the harassment of the victims' families for demanding accountability. The cases were also included.
However, she went missing from Wuhan on May 14 and it was revealed a day later that she had been detained by police in Shanghai.
He was formally arrested in Shanghai on June 19, and about three months later, on September 9, the lawyer was allowed to see Zhang Zhen.
The CHRD said Zhang had gone on a hunger strike in protest of his arrest.
On September 18, his lawyer was called and told that Zhang Zhen had been indicted, while he was formally charged last Friday.
The indictment alleges that Zhang Zen spread false information in the form of text, video and other media through platforms such as WeChat, Twitter and YouTube.
He is also accused of interviewing foreign media outlets and spreading malicious information about the virus in Wuhan.
