According to media reports, Hong Kong police arrested the father and brother of pro-democracy activist Anna Kwok, who allegedly helped her finances.

Reuters news agency said this is the first time that a relative of a "submarine" was charged under the territory's security law.

Authorities accused Ms. Cook, 26, of violating Hong Kong's national security law after participating in pro-democracy protests in 2019.

She fled the territory in 2020 and is now executive director of the Hong Kong Democracy Commission (HKDC), a Washington, DC-based organization.

Police said they arrested two men, 35 and 68, suspected of handling "funds or other financial assets" belonging to Kwok.

Later, local media identified the two men as relatives of Ms. Kwok and cited police sources.

According to a report from the South China Morning Post (SCMP), police investigated the two after observing that they met Ms. Kwok overseas.

The 68-year-old, identified by local media as Kwok's father, Kwok Yin-Sang, was accused of helping her daughter with her insurance policy after returning to Hong Kong.

Kwok Yin-Sang has been trying to access Ms. Kwok’s life and personal accident insurance policy, which can get funds on her behalf, according to a fee sheet seen by Reuters.

National Security Judge Victor rejected his bail, Reuters reported.

Reuters said the 35-year-old man was identified by local media as Ms. Cook's brother and was accused of supporting his father's attempt to retrieve the money.

He was reportedly released on bail pending further investigation.

In 2023, Hong Kong placed a bounty on the heads of several pro-democracy activists (including Ms. Cook) who fled the territory.

Eight targets have been charged with collusion with foreign forces - a crime that can be sentenced to criminal proceedings.

At the time, Ms. Kwok said the bounty was intended to scare the other and her activists.

She told the BBC that it was exactly the kind of thing the Hong Kong government and the Chinese Communist Party did - that was to intimidate people not to do anything and silence them. ”

The former British colony became a special administrative region in China in 1997, when Britain's 99-year lease on new territory north of Hong Kong Island expired.

Hong Kong still enjoys freedoms not seen in mainland China, but it is widely believed that they are declining.