(Minghui.org) Three siblings were recently sentenced for their shared faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Luo Qiaoli and her sister Ms. Luo Qiaoping, both residents of Hunan Province, visited their parents in Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province, in February 2020. On February 24, the two sisters were reported for distributing information about the persecution of Falun Gong and how the Chinese communist regime used similar tactics from the persecution in covering up the pandemic.
The police arrested the women at around 7 a.m. on February 28. Their mother and younger brother, Mr. Luo Xiaoxing, who lives with their parents, were also arrested. Nine officers ransacked the family home and confiscated many valuables. The family patriarch, in his 80s, was left at home by himself. His wife was released near 11 p.m.
A few days later, the elderly couple went to the local police station and demanded the release of their three children and the return of the confiscated items. The police only returned some cash.
Due to the pandemic, the couple wasn’t able to deliver clothes and daily necessities to their children in the Mianshawan Detention Center (formerly known as the Wanyaoshu Detention Center) until late June.
The three siblings appeared in the Xi District Court twice, on September 2 and October 30. They testified in their own defense and denied any wrongdoing in spreading information about their faith. They also refuted the charges of “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used by the communist regime to frame Falun Gong practitioners.
The judge later sentenced all three to prison: Ms. Luo Qiaoli was sentenced to five years and fined 30,000 yuan, Ms. Luo Qiaoping was sentenced to four years and fined 20,000 yuan, and their brother Mr. Luo Xiaoxing was sentenced to eight years and fined 50,000 yuan.
The siblings have appealed the verdicts and are now awaiting the results in the detention center.
