(Minghui.org) Two women from Muling, Heilongjiang Province, were recently tried and sentenced seven months after their arrest. Their families were kept in the dark and not allowed to see them from the time the local procuratorate approved their arrests to when they were transferred to prison.

Both Ms. Qu Zhimin (曲智敏) and Ms. Gao Xuehui (高学辉) were arrested on February 23, 2014. Ms. Qu was captured while distributing literature exposing the persecution of Falun Gong, and Ms. Gao was taken away from her home. Officers from Muling City Police Department and Erpai Police Station were responsible for the women's arrests and the ransacking of their homes.

The practitioners were taken to Bamiantong Detention Center and later Mudanjiang Detention Center, before being transferred to Heilongjiang Women's Prison on October 8, 2014. Ms. Qu was given three years, and Ms. Gao, one-and-half years.

Ms. Qu, 61, was a physics teacher in Muling City Third Middle School. She used to have heart and stomach problems and often fainted in class, but recovered without medical intervention after she began to practice Falun Gong in 1998.

Ms. Qu worked hard to support her family after her husband lost his job. She managed to ensure that her two sons graduated from college. She took good care of her elderly parents who lived next door until they passed away in their 80s. Her neighbors and relatives were infuriated that such a well-regarded woman was sentenced to prison.

Police officers involved in the arrests of Ms. Qu and Ms. Gao:Sun Yujun (孙雅君), captain of Muleng Police Department Domestic Security Division.Li Yanchun (李彦春) and Cui Xingguo (崔兴国), collaborators at Muleng Police DepartmentLu Zhenhua (陆振华), director of Erpai Police Station