(Minghui.org) Three Baoji City, Shaanxi Province residents were recently sentenced to prison terms ranging from 16 months to five years for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Qin Lijie, Ms. Kou Aimei and Ms. Li Baolian were arrested on June 5, 2020 in a police sweep, along with four other practitioners, Ms. Kou Shuiling, Ms. Shi Cuiying, Ms. Qin Lihua, Ms. Li Baorong, as well Ms. Qin Lijie’s husband Mr. Mao Hongen, who doesn’t practice Falun Gong. All seven practitioners are retired employees of the Baoji Petroleum Machinery Plant.

Among them, Ms. Kou Shuiling is around 80, Ms. Shi is 75, and the other six people are around 60 years old.

The police ransacked the homes of Ms. Shi, Ms. Kou Aimei, Ms. Qin Lijie, and Ms. Li Baolian, without showing their police IDs or a search warrant. The practitioners’ computers, printers, and Falun Gong books were confiscated. It was reported that the police monitored the practitioners for some time before arresting them.

Except for Ms. Qin Lijie, Ms. Kou Aimei and Ms. Li Baolian, who were transferred to the Baoji City No. 2 Detention Center on June 29 and had their arrests approved, all the other five people were released on June 21 after 15 days of detention.

It was recently confirmed that Ms. Qin Lijie was sentenced to a five-year prison term, Ms. Kou Aimei to four and a half years, and Ms. Li Baolian to one year and four months. All were taken to the Shaanxi Women’s Prison in Xi’an City.