(Minghui.org) Two Liaocheng City residents were sentenced to prison on December 11, 2018 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been suppressed by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Gao Xiaoping was sentenced to 3.5 years and Ms. Huang Huanzhi to 2 years. Both of them have begun to serve time at Shandong Women's Prison.

Ms. Gao, a native of Weifang City, Shandong Province, moved to Liaocheng City, about 200 miles from her hometown, to escape the persecution of her faith.

She was arrested by officers from Lihaiwu Police Station on January 27, 2018, together with Ms. Huang, while distributing materials about Falun Gong. They were detained at Liaocheng City Detention Center.

The police submitted their cases to Dongchangfu District Procuratorate, which rejected them twice for insufficient evidence, before finally moving them to Dongchangfu District Court.

Both women were tried around August 2018 without legal representation. Their families weren't informed of the trial.