(Minghui.org) A Dunhuang City, Gansu Province resident was recently taken to prison to serve a 3.5-year term for her faith in Falun Gong, after her appeal against the wrongful term was rejected by the higher court.

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

Ms. Lyu Fengmei, 50, was arrested on February 25, 2021. Her computer and cell phone were confiscated. She was tried by the Dunhuang City Court on August 11, 2021 and sentenced to 3.5 years with a 5,000-yuan fine. She appealed the verdict. The Jiuquan City Intermediate Court ruled to uphold her original verdict on December 18.

Before she was taken to the Lanzhou City Women’s Prison on December 21, the Dunhuang City Detention Center forced her family to pay for the 5,000 yuan fine before allowing them to visit her.

Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Lyu was arrested on April 11, 2007 and held at the Aksai County Detention Center. She appeared in Aksai County Court on October 22, 2007 and was sentenced to 2.5 years. She was tortured and ordered to renounce Falun Gong in the prison.

The local police harassed her in mid-April 2017 and asked her whether she still practiced Falun Gong. They also asked whether she had a computer and what were her family’s phone numbers.