(Minghui.org) Three Liaoyuan City, Jilin Province residents were recently sentenced to prison for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. 

Ms. Yin Lanhua was sentenced to four years with a 20,000 yuan fine.Mr. Yue Changyou was sentenced to two years with a 10,000 yuan fine.Ms. Ji Fengxia was sentenced to one year with two years probation and a 5,000 yuan fine. 

Mr. Yue and Ms. Ji distributed informational materials about Falun Gong in a residential area on the afternoon of July 6, 2020. Mr. Yue was then arrested and Ms. Ji escaped. 

In the evening, the police broke into Ms. Yin’s home and brought her to the police station. She was locked in a chair with her hands cuffed behind her back during a three-day interrogation. 

On the evening of July 7, the police broke into Ms. Ji’s home and ransacked the place. As Ms. Ji wasn’t home, the police arrested her husband and kept him in custody briefly before releasing him on bail. Ms. Ji was arrested later that evening and taken to the local detention center. 

The three practitioners were indicted in late October 2020. They were tried by the Longshan District Court through a video conference on November 9. Only one family member of each practitioner was allowed to attend the hearing.

Ms. Yin’s lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her. She also denied taking part in “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese courts to criminalize Falun Gong practitioners. 

The judge announced the verdicts against the practitioners in early December. Ms. Yin’s family vows to appeal the verdict for her.

Related report:

Jilin Woman On Trial for Her Faith Testifies Against Police Violence and Interrogation