(Minghui.org) The Ninghe District Court sentenced a Tianjin woman to a 4.5 year prison term on July 17, 2020, for practicing Falun Gong.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Ma Jinxia, 57, took up Falun Gong in 2005. She credits the practice for curing her headache and a stomach condition.

Ms. Ma was arrested on October 9, 2019 after being tracked by police for making phone calls to inform the public about the persecution of Falun Gong. The police confiscated her Falun Gong books and all materials related to Falun Gong, all of which, together with the call history on her phone, were used as evidence to charge her with “undermining law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese authorities to frame Falun Gong practitioners.

While the police were raiding Ms. Ma’s home, her 93-year-old mother, who was incapacitated and had been living with Ms. Ma for the past eight years, was so terrified that she couldn’t stop shivering. She passed away four months later. The police refused to allow Ms. Ma to see her mother for the last time.

Ms. Ma is now appealing her verdict.