(Minghui.org) It was recently confirmed by Minghui.org that a Qingyuan City, Guangdong Province, resident, was sentenced to five years in April 2023 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. Her appeal was rejected two months later.

Ms. Wang Ruijuan, 66, took up Falun Gong in 1998. She was arrested on June 25, 2022 by officers from the Qingcheng District Police Department, after being reported for putting up Falun Gong posters in a residential complex the day before. Due to her physical condition, she was released on bail on July 2, 2022 and placed on house arrest.

Ms. Wang was indicted and her case was moved to the Yingde City Court in January 2023. The judge ordered her to be taken back into custody on March 16, 2023 and she was transferred to the local detention center two days later.

Ms. Wang was sentenced to five years and fined 20,000 yuan in early April 2023. Her family was not notified of her trial and sentence. She appealed to the Qingyuan City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold the original verdict on June 5, 2023.

Prior to her latest sentence, Ms. Wang was previously sentenced to three years on December 2, 2002 for distributing Falun Gong materials. She was arrested again on October 12, 2021, after being reported for putting up Falun Gong posters at a construction site earlier that month. She was released on bail on October 15, 2021.