RSF welcomes Media Freedom Coalition’s call for release of Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan

In a statementpublished on 8 October, the Media Freedom Coalition, a partnership of 50 countries working together to promote media freedom, raised concerns about the Chinese regime's curtailment of media freedoms and called for the release of Zhang Zhan and "all those detained in connection with their reporting." In the past, RSF has referred Zhang Zhan's case to the MFC.

MFC also stated that Zhang Zhan "is one of many journalists in China who have been convicted and imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of expression", and that her "case underscores the global importance of defending journalism as essential for transparency, accountability, and democracy. We urge Chinese authorities to allow journalists to practice their profession without fear of arrest, harassment or reprisal."

According to RSF sources, Zhang Zhan was sentencedto four years in prison on fabricated charges of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" on 19 September 2025 after a closed-door trial. The 2021 RSF Press Freedom Award laureate has been cut off from the outside worldfor over a year, with her whereabouts and conditions kept secret. On the day of her trial at the Pudong New Area People's Court in Shanghai, diplomats from at least seven countries and at least five activists were denied entry.

This is her second prison term; she was first arrested in May 2020 for reporting from Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak, posting over 100 videos online. Sentenced to four years that December, she nearly died on a hunger strike protesting her mistreatment before being released in May 2024. Throughout her first imprisonment, RSF campaigned for her release and highlighted her mistreatment in prison

The MFC was created in July 2019 as a partnership of countries working together proactively to advocate for media freedom at home and abroad. Civil society organisations such as RSF that are members of the MFC's consultative network can report particularly serious situations or individual cases, such as arbitrary detention, to member states for them to take action.

China, the world's biggest prison for journalists and press freedom defenders with at least 120 media workers currently behind bars, is ranked 178th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index.