Shanghai citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who was sentenced to four years in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” by a Shanghai court not long ago, was refused a visit by her family’s lawyer at the Pudong New Area Detention Center on November 17th. The detention center claimed that Zhang Zhan had been “transferred for execution”, her family has not received the judgement, and the location of her detention has not been disclosed, raising doubts about the conditions of her detention during the appeal process.
In September of this year, Zhang Zhan was sentenced to four years in the Shanghai Pudong New Area Court in the first instance. By the end of October, her family learned that she had filed an appeal. On the afternoon of November 16th, the appeal lawyer Gao Chengcai went to the detention center to inquire about a meeting. According to the lawyer, when he checked Zhang Zhan’s information on the official appointment platform, the system displayed “no such person”.
At 8 a.m. on the 17th, Gao Chengcai followed the procedures to submit an authorization, but the duty policewoman said that there was a “change in registration status” for Zhang Zhan and requested to wait. Ten minutes later, two police officers asked him if he knew Zhang Zhan. The lawyer responded that the authorization process was legal and had no personal relationship implications, but his meeting request was not further processed.
An activist friend close to Zhang Zhan’s family, Mr. Zhang, told this newspaper that after being secretly sentenced on September 19, Zhang Zhan appealed to the second instance court. He said, “After the family learned that Zhang Zhan had filed an appeal at the end of October, they finally broke through the National Security’s obstruction and courageously hired a lawyer for Zhang Zhan in hopes of getting a not guilty verdict in the second trial.”
Overseas social media account @changchengwai revealed that while waiting at the detention center, lawyer Gao Chengcai received a call from Zhang Zhan’s family saying, “Zhang Zhan is not there”. The duty policewoman later stated that according to the registration information, Zhang Zhan had been transferred for execution. When the lawyer inquired about the timing of the transfer and delivery of the judgement, he received no response. The family received a message in the evening saying that Zhang Zhan may have been sent to an educational institution for a one-month “training” before being transferred to prison for serving her sentence, raising questions about the legality of her detention environment and the transparency of the process.
Epoch Times first reported on October 30 that Zhang Zhan had filed an appeal. The family made their third visit to the detention center on November 17 and were rejected again, citing reasons such as “no such person” and “already transferred for execution”. Despite the lawyer’s arrangements for a meeting in accordance with legal requirements, they were also told that non-family members were not allowed to inquire about the execution status. After the lawyer filed a written complaint, the CCP prosecutor’s office replied that Zhang Zhan had been sent for execution and therefore no further meetings would be arranged.
An informed source said that the family’s requests for a copy of the judgement have been unanswered multiple times. He said, “If she was indeed sent to an ‘educational’ institution, the family should be notified according to the procedure.”
Zhang Zhan has drawn attention from the Shanghai police several times for her activism. She once held an umbrella on the streets of Shanghai with the words “Down with the Communist Party” written on it, and has long assisted activists and marginalized groups, making her considered a “sensitive figure” by local authorities. Foreign embassy officials and activists are also often prevented from contacting her.
Lawyer Liu from Guangzhou pointed out that according to the Lawyer’s Law and the Prison Law, detainees and their lawyers are entitled to visitation and information rights. The current situation may involve procedural violations. He said that Zhang Zhan’s case exemplifies the information secrecy and meeting obstruction commonly seen in sensitive cases in Shanghai. He stated, “If Zhang Zhan is considered a ‘political prisoner’ or similar status, the authorities may use atypical detention methods, making it difficult for family members and lawyers to have contact.”
Dong, a rights activist from Hubei who has been imprisoned twice, believes that the deliberate secrecy surrounding Zhang Zhan’s whereabouts is meant to reduce public scrutiny of the case. He said, “The terms ‘transferred for execution’ or ‘educational training’ easily give the impression of non-prison facilities. Where exactly is Zhang Zhan?”
Zhang Zhan, originally a practicing lawyer, turned into a citizen journalist. In early 2020, she went to Wuhan to report on the pandemic, and the following year she was sentenced to four years for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. In September 2025, the Pudong New Area Court sentenced her to another four years on the same charge. As her family and lawyers continue to investigate Zhang Zhan’s whereabouts, this case has once again attracted attention from the public.