(Minghui.org) A former teacher in Pingdu City, Shandong Province was sentenced to a seven-year prison term on July 20, 2022 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. She has appealed the verdict.

Ms. Ma Qin

Ms. Ma Qin, 53, was a teacher at Pingdu Development Zone Experimental School. She was arrested in her neighborhood on March 28, 2021 and held at the Qingdao No. 2 Detention Center.

The Huangdao District Court held a hearing of Ms. Ma’s case at the detention center on May 13, 2022. Judge Ou Xiaobin attempted to lure her into renouncing Falun Gong by promising a lighter sentence. Ms. Ma refused to comply and insisted that she didn’t do anything wrong in practicing Falun Gong. Her lawyer also entered a not guilty plea for her and demanded her acquittal.

The judge informed her lawyer of her verdict on July 20.

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