(Minghui.org) A resident of Chaoyang County, Liaoning Province was secretly sentenced to prison for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Zhang Xiaoyan was preparing breakfast on February 15, 2019 when a group of officers broke in and confiscated more than 40 Falun Gong books from her home. She was taken to Chaoyang Detention Center, where she remains to this day.

The police submitted Ms. Zhang’s case to the Chaoyang County Procuratorate in late March. She was later secretly tried and sentenced to a three-year prison term and 5,000 yuan fine, by the Chaoyang County Court.

Ms. Zhang appealed the verdict with the Chaoyang Intermediate Court, which held a hearing on November 28, 2019 without informing her family. She is still awaiting the result of her appeal at the time of this writing.

It was reported that Ms. Zhang’s arrest was triggered by an order given by the Liaoning Province Public Security Department to persecute Falun Gong practitioners.

Four other practitioners from Chaoyang County were arrested on the same day, including Ms. Fan Shuqin, Ms. Song Jiulian, Ms. Jia Suzhen, and Ms. Sun Xianzhang, who have since been released.