HONG KONG, (Reuters) – Police in Hong Kong said Thursday that they have filed complaints against the main city legal institutions over a case involving a federal security matter relating to a fund which had helped pro-democracy protesters pay for legal service.

Police arrested five trustees of 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, now disbanded, this week. They included Cardinal Joseph Zen (90), one of Asia’s most prominent Catholic clerics; and Margaret Ng (74), a leading senior barrister.

Five were detained for “conspiracy against a foreign nation or with other elements to endanger our national security,” according to a China-imposed security law. They were released after being held on bail.

Police said that its investigation had revealed “that a number solicitors and barristers are suspected of professional misconduct in providing legal services”, but did not give names or details.

Police added that complaints were filed with the Hong Kong Bar Association as well as the Hong Kong Law Society.

Reuters reached out to neither party for comment.

Denise Ho is a pop singer, Cyd Ho, a former lawyer and Hui Pokeung. In June 2020, the national security law was enacted. It punishes subversion, terrorist acts, and collusion with foreign troops with life imprisonment. nL2N2X31EL]

Zen, Ng, as well as the other advocates have been strong supporters of Hong Kong’s fundamental rights. The security law is criticised by those who claim it undermines freedoms that China promised under the “one country” agreement when Hong Kong was re-established from British rule to Chinese control in 1997.

These arrests were criticized by the Vatican, as well as Western governments including Britain. They claimed that the security legislation was used to “curtail liberty, punish dissent and shrink the space of opposition-free press and civil society”

Late Thursday, the Hong Kong Foreign Commissioner’s Office of China stated in a statement that Western criticisms had “smeared” the law enforcement efforts of police officers and that any interference in Hong Kong affairs must stop.

Hong Kong’s Catholic Diocesan stated that on Thursday it was “extremely concern” over Zen’s safety, and requested the police and the judicial authorities to take care of his “case in line with justice.”

The Hong Kong government stated that the arrests were in compliance with the law. It was not relevant to any occupational or religious backgrounds of the arrested.