(Minghui.org) Ms. Luo Hui and Ms. Zhang Hong, two Falun Gong practitioners from Sichuan Province, were recently sentenced to three years of imprisonment with a fine of 8,000 yuan each because of their belief in Falun Gong.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a meditation system composed of exercises and the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The Chinese Communist Party has been persecuting it since July 1999.

Both Ms. Luo and Ms. Zhang are from Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. When they put up self-adhesive stickers bearing Falun Gong messages on July 15, 2017, a sanitary worker saw them and reported them to police.

Officers from Caotang Police Station tracked the two women through video surveillance (an integrated network that connects hundreds of millions of video cameras throughout China) to their homes and arrested them. Officials ransacked their homes and confiscated a personal computer as well as Falun Gong books from Ms. Zhang.

Ms. Luo and Ms. Zheng were issued formal arrest warrants on August 18, 2017. The Qingyang Procuratorate charged them in April 2018 and brought the case to Qingyang Court. Prosecutor Zhang Zhenhua threatened their families not to hire attorneys.

On December 13, 2018, the two practitioners were sentenced to prison. Ms. Luo's father defended them in court. Both Ms. Luo and Ms. Zheng have appealed the case to the local intermediate court.

Key Responsible Personnel:

Song Lin: officer of Caotang Police Station, +86-15982325559Zhang Zhenhua: officer at Qingyang Procuratorate, +86-15828108620Cai Mao: judge at Qingcao Court, 86263017