(Minghui.org) A 73-year-old woman was sentenced to 4.5 years and fined 10,000 yuan for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.

Ms. Li Yingju's latest sentencing on July 12, 2018 came only two years after she served five years for her faith.

The Qiqihar resident was last arrested on March 8, 2018. She was distributing Falun Gong informational materials when she was videotaped by policewoman Lu Wenting. Lu turned Ms. Li in to officer Wang Xiaoli of Keshan Farm. Wang proceeded to ransack Ms. Li's home and threatened to sentence her to prison again if she refused to cooperate with him.

Officer Liang Ziguo delivered a copy of Ms. Li's arrest warrant to her family around March 22. The warrant stated that Ms. Li was arrested for “using a cult to undermine law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese communist regime in its attempt to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.

Ms. Li's family visited the local Nongken Procuratorate three times to try to file complaints against officers Lu and Wang for arresting Ms. Li without any legal basis. The receptionist there declined to take their complaint and said the case has been returned to Keshan Farm Police Department for additional information. He drove them away when they challenged him to specify which law stipulates that Falun Gong is a cult.

Ms. Li's family visited chief Hou Yong of Keshan Farm Police Department in early April to request copies of confiscated items. Hou falsely claimed that the inventory list had been given to Ms. Li.

Ms. Li's family contacted chief Hou again on April 25 and was referred to officer Liang. Liang said the complaint letter they filed against officers Lu and Wang with the Supreme Court had been received, as the highest court had informed the local police of the complaint.

Ms. Li appeared at Nongken Court on June 22. Her family wrote a request to seek her unconditional release and submitted five copies of the letter on July 3 to the court president, two vice presidents, the presiding judge, and the assistant judge. They inquired about the response to their request on July 10 and were told that the sentencing hearing was scheduled for July 12.

Judge Zhang Zhongyuan and his assistants Yang Guojun and Ge Gang announced on July 12 to sentence Ms. Li to prison. She refused to sign the verdict and asked to file an appeal.

Related Report:Elderly Practitioner Ms. Li Yingju, from Keshan Farm in Heilongjiang Province, Sentenced to Five Years in Prison