(Minghui.org) Five residents of Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province, were each sentenced to seven years on August 15, 2020, for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Cao Shufang, Mr. Gao Pengguang, Mr. Sun Shiwei, and Ms. Gao Yongli were arrested on April 24, 2020. It is unclear when Ms. Shi Ying was arrested. All five of them had their homes ransacked. Ms. Cao was released around 2 a.m. the next day after she was found to have high blood pressure. 

Ms. Cao was informed by the Bamiantong No.1 Police Station on August 15, 2020, to go to the Hailin Court to pick up her copy of the verdict. When she arrived, she was told that she and the other four practitioners had each been sentenced to seven years. Ms. Cao was also fined 20,000 yuan. 

It’s not clear whether a trial ever took place regarding the practitioners’ cases. 

Ms. Cao and Ms. Gao are being held in Mudanjiang Detention Center. Mr. Gao and Mr. Sun Shiwei are in the Bamiantong Town Detention Center.