A 37-year-old Chinese citizen journalist is reportedly on a hunger strike after being sentenced to four years in jail.

Zhang Zhan, 37, is a former lawyer who travelled from Shanghai to Wuhan in February to document the spread of the novel coronavirus.

She's been convicted of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", her lawyer, Zhang Keke, told NBC News in an interview.

He said that she is being force-fed by authorities.

The last time she was seen on social media was on May 13, according to the South China Morning Post.

The German media outlet DW reported that Zhang Zhan was detained in May after criticizing the government's response to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the central Chinese city.

Her reporting countered Chinese government's claims of how well it reacted to the situation.

"What she did was she challenged the narrative," DW reporter Clifford Coonan said. "This is all about controlling the narrative—controlling the story about the pandemic—which has been so damaging to the global economy but also to China's reputation."

Coonan noted that three other citizen journalists in China are also in trouble for their reporting on the crisis.

In addition, a Bloomberg journalist, Chinese national Haze Fan, and Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai have been charged under the national security law. 

Over the past year, several journalists from western media outlets have left the country after either being ordered to return their media passes or being questioned by the state security ministry.

"These are difficult times for journalists in China," Coonan said.