(Minghui.org) Two Chifeng City residents were sentenced to prison for distributing materials exposing the Chinese communist regime’s persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline based on the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Ms. Wang Yulan, 60, and Mr. Chi Hailong, 61, were both arrested on December 2, 2016. Ms. Wang was sentenced to 5 years in prison and Mr. Chi 3 years. They are both appealing their verdicts to Inner Mongolia Superior Court.

Ms. Wang was tried on March 3, 2017, and her lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her, as no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and she had every right to inform the public of the illegal persecution.

The judge and the prosecutor spoke ill of Falun Gong at the beginning of the trial. They, however, stopped the lawyer when he asked Ms. Wang to testify to why she practiced Falun Gong. Ms. Wang replied that Falun Gong returned her to health and gave her back her life.

As the lawyer defended his client’s right to raise awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong, the judge kept interrupting him, claiming that Falun Gong had nothing to do with the case.

It’s unclear when Mr. Chi was tried.