Hong Kong lawyer Jimmy Siu on Friday filed a writ to Hong Kong’s High Court in a petition for the court to order the arrest of five US lawmakers that introduced the Hong Kong Sanctions Act, according to Hong Kong Free Press on Monday. In his writ, Siu requested that the court permit all individuals to arrest the five US lawmakers.

The Hong Kong Sanctions Act was introduced by Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern, Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan, California Representative Young Kim, Utah Representative John Curtis and Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley on November 2. It was proposed to engage the US president to determine whether 49 of Hong Kong’s national security officials should be sanctioned for allegedly violating human rights. The list of 49 Hong Kong officials includes Hong Kong’s Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok and Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal Andrew Cheung Kui-nung.

Sullivan previously expressed that, “Hong Kong’s judiciary isn’t the source of pride and independence it used to be … Since the 2019 – 2020 crackdown, the judiciary in Hong Kong has become an instrument of the [Chinese Communist Party] to target innocent civilians.” In his writ, Siu alleged that the five lawmakers had “pervert[ed] the course of justice and were in contempt of court.” Siu also suggested that the lawmakers had introduced the Hong Kong Sanctions Act to pressure Hong Kong’s courts.

Beijing’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress previously adopted a resolution in November 2020 that permits the Hong Kong government to bar lawmakers who act in ways that “endanger national security.” Four assembly members were then disqualified after they were “accused of working with foreign powers to interfere in the affairs of Hong Kong.”