(Minghui.org) A woman in Leshan City, Sichuan Province was recently sentenced to 3.5 years for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Shuai Huilan, in her 60s, was arrested on January 18, 2021 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. Another practitioner, Ms. Jian Lanying, was arrested together with her. Both women were held at the Leshan Detention Center.

Ms. Shuai’s family was recently notified by the Jiajiang Court to pay a fine on her behalf. When they went to the court to inquire about her case, they learned that she was sentenced to 3.5 years and fined 2,000 yuan. The court staff had already withdrawn 600 yuan from her account at the detention center to pay part of the fine.

The court claimed that they had given Ms. Shuai’s verdict to the police station responsible for her arrest. When her family called the police, no one ever answered the call. The police also refused to return the motorcycle confiscated from her during her arrest.

It’s not clear whether Ms. Jian has been sentenced.

In the past 22 years, Sichuan Province has been one of the top regions with the most severe persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. In just the first half of 2021, five practitioners were persecuted to death, 34 were sentenced, 207 were arrested, and 581 were harassed. A total of 237,430 yuan was also extorted from an unknown number of practitioners during the same period.