As many as 14 people were sentenced to serve jail terms of up to three years for being part of a religious cult and promoting spiritual ideas in China.

Nine of those sentenced were identified as members of the banned extremist group Quannengshen, which has been previously labeled by the Chinese administration as a deadly cult and a terrorist organization. According to local media, these nine individuals were convicted for violating the implementation of laws with the utilization of cult tactics. The remaining five were sentenced by another court in the northeastern province of Liaoning, reportedly for spreading cult propaganda.

According to followers of Quannengshen, also known as Eastern Lighting, Christ has been born for the third time as Yang Xiangbin, a Chinese woman, who also happens to be the wife of the cult’s founder Zhao Weishan. After the group emerged during the 1990s, China banned its operations in the country, eventually causing Weishan and his wife to flee to the United States in 2000, where Weishan continues to lead the church.

While none of those convicted was sentenced for more than three years, some are expected to be set free within 18 months.

Two members of Quannengshen were executed in February this year, after being convicted of murdering a woman at a restaurant after she refused to join their organization. Some others involved with the attack were handed down prison sentences of up to seven years. Last month, local media also reported that the spiritual head of a Chinese Buddhist sect would be tried for sexual and financial offences.

Photo Credits: Cinefamily