SHANGHAI: Chinese citizen journalist has sentenced to four years in prison on Monday for her live stream reporting from Wuhan as the COVID-19 outbreak unfolded.

Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer, was accused of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for her reporting in the chaotic initial stages of the outbreak, international media reports said.

Her live reports and essays were widely shared on social media platforms in February.

Controlling the information flow has been crucial in allowing China’s communist authorities to reframe the narrative in their favor.

About a dozen supporters and diplomats gathered outside Shanghai Pudong New District People’s Court on Monday morning, but police pushed journalists and observers away from the entrance as the defendant and her lawyer arrived, Al Jazeera reported.

Zhang, who is 37, began a hunger strike in June, according to her lawyers, and has been force-fed via a nasal tube as concerns grow about her health.