(Minghui.org) Two Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province residents were sentenced to three and five years, respectively, for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Wang Shupei

Ms. Wang Shupei, 59, was arrested on August 17, 2018. Her family was stonewalled in the past year when they went to different government agencies to inquire about her case and seek justice for her.

Ms. Wang was tried by Zhaoyuan City Court on January 17, 2019. The judge adjourned the hearing in less than 15 minutes. Her family only saw her from behind and noticed that her hair had turned completely gray.

The Shandong Women's Prison informed her family in late August that she has been imprisoned following her conviction on August 6. When they visited her in the prison, they were saddened to see her very weak, pale, and gaunt.

Ms. Wang began to practice Falun Gong in March 1999. She credits the practice for curing her many ailments, including kidney problems, insomnia, and arthritis.

Because of holding firm to her faith, she was repeatedly arrested and detained. She was given a two-year term of forced labor in 2001, six years in prison in 2004 and another forced labor camp term in 2012.

Ms. Zhao Yuhong

Ms. Zhao Yuhong, 62, who was living by herself, was arrested on the evening of October 10, 2018.

The police kept her family in the dark of her whereabouts and case status. Not until May 2019 did they find out that Ms. Zhao has been secretly sentenced to three years and has also been sent to Shandong Women's Prison.

An insider told her family that the police arrested her and got her sentenced in order to fulfill the quota in the campaign to combat gang members.

Because of refusing to renounce her faith in Falun Gong, Ms. Zhao has been repeatedly arrested and imprisoned in the past 20 years. She was severely tortured and injected with unknown drugs during her previous detention. Her thumbs and index fingers became disabled. She had trouble sleeping and suffered hallucinations and a mental disorder.

Related reports:

Zhaoyuan, Shandong Province: One Woman Forcibly “Disappeared” and Another Tried for Their Faith in Falun Gong

Ms. Zhao Yuhong's Whereabouts Unknown

Zhaoyuan, Shandong: 20 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested Since August 2018

Ms. Wang Shupei Jailed For Talking to People About Falun Gong

Farmer Ms. Wang Shupei Files Criminal Complaint Against Jiang Zemin

Falun Gong Practitioner Ms. Wang Shupei Devastated by Repeated, Forced Drug Injections

610 Office Police Again Arrest Ms. Wang Shupei from Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province

Three Sisters from Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province Arrested, Policeman Li Jianguang Further Implicated