(Minghui.org) A woman from Shandong Province was recently sentenced to four years in prison for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline persecuted by the communist regime since 1999. She has appealed the sentence and was taken to Jinan Women's Prison to serve time on October 23, 2018.

Ms. Zhang Hua, 60, was arrested on the early morning of January 4, 2018 at her mother's home. The police surrounded the house and forced her brother to open the door for them. They later ransacked her home and confiscated her Falun Gong related items.

Ms. Zhang was detained at Wendeng Detention Center following her arrest.

Her lawyer visited her in May prior to her trial. He told her family that she was suffering from mental torment and having trouble falling asleep after she was forced to renounce her faith against her will.

This isn't the first time that Ms. Zhang was targeted for practicing Falun Gong. Since 2010, she had been repeatedly arrested and once sent to a forced labor camp for telling people about the persecution of Falun Gong. Her husband was forced to divorce her. After she retired at 55, her employer withheld her pension, leaving her in financial distress.

Her parents, who are in their 80s, are both disabled and have trouble walking. Her latest sentence was a heavy blow for them.