Chinese authorities are expected to release a man who went missing three years ago after he posted a video of overcrowded hospitals and corpses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fang Bin was due to be released on Sunday, according to two people who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisals. One said Fan was sentenced to three years in prison for “causing trouble,” a vague charge traditionally used against political dissidents.

The Associated Press was unable to independently confirm his release and was unable to verify details with the authorities. Phone calls to the court, which reportedly sentenced Fan, went unanswered Sunday afternoon. A woman from another court who was reportedly hearing Fan’s appeal said she was not authorized to answer questions.

During the initial outbreak of the pandemic in Wuhan, a city of 11 million, a small number of citizens tried to inform the world through social media, challenging the Communist Party’s tightly controlled monopoly on information.

Like Fang, Chen Qiushi disappeared in February 2020.

In September 2021, Chen reappeared on his friend’s YouTube live stream saying he was suffering from depression. But he did not provide any details about his disappearance.

Another citizen, Zhang Zhang, who was also reported early on in the outbreak, was sentenced to four years in prison in December 2020 on charges of “causing trouble.”

According to the Associated Press