(Minghui.org) Three Guiyang City, Guizhou Province residents were recently sentenced to prison for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Song Xiaomei, 54, and Mr. Chen Jinhua, 60, were each given three years. Ms. Song’s son, Mr. Li Binyang, around 30, was sentenced to four years.

The three practitioners were arrested on February 16, 2023, together with Ms. Song’s husband, Mr. Li Hongwei, and another practitioner Ms. Liu Yulan, when they went to Qingzhen City to distribute informational materials about Falun Gong.

Mr. Li, who didn’t practice Falun Gong, was released after 48 hours. His son and Mr. Chen were taken to the Qingzhen City Detention Center. Ms. Song and Ms. Liu were detained in the Sanjiang Detention Center in Guiyang.

Mr. Chen, Ms. Song and her son were later sentenced to prison. The details are unknown. Ms. Song was taken to the Guiyang Province Women’s Prison. It’s not clear where Mr. Chen and Mr. Li are currently detained. It’s also not known whether Ms. Liu was sentenced.

Ms. Song used to work for the Honghu Machinery Factory. She was fired in 2000 after she began practicing Falun Gong. She was arrested in 2001 and given three years in the Guizhou Forced Labor Camp. She was also held in the Lanniugou Brainwashing Center. After she was released, she faced constant harassment by the local police and residential committee and had to move to avoid the persecution.

Mr. Chen was a retired employee of the Liyang Factory. He took up Falun Gong before the persecution started. Prior to his latest sentencing, he was arrested multiple times and held in a labor camp for not renouncing his faith. The police tried three times to force his wife to divorce him.