At least two more Chinese lawyers say they have faced demands to give up representing 12 Hongkongers caught at sea by mainland authorities while trying to escape to Taiwan.

Both lawyers had taken up the cases upon the requests of family members of the detained Hongkongers. One of the duo told Apple Daily that he was asked to meet officers of the local Justice Bureau, who tried to persuade him to quit the case, reject media interview requests, keep details of the case from the public and not participate in activism over the case.

The lawyer was also told not to visit the detention center in Shenzhen where his client was held, as the client did not want to see him. The lawyer said he expected the authorities to force him to sign a statement rejecting his appointment by the client’s family, a common way for the Chinese police to dissuade lawyers. The lawyer said he would not quit and would press for a meeting with his client.

The second lawyer, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said he received calls from national security agents and the local Justice Bureau to demand he drop the case. The lawyer also said he would not comply and was planning to visit Shenzhen to meet his client this week.

The families of the 12 were still looking for other Shenzhen lawyers to take up their cases, according to sources.

Shenzhen authorities were pre-emptively calling lawyers who had handled sensitive cases in the past, or those who might take up one of the 12 Hong Kong cases, to warn them against doing so. Their efforts reflected the severity of the whole incident, a source said.

The Chinese foreign ministry told reporters on Monday that the case of Hongkongers allegedly crossing the border unlawfully was still under investigation. Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin reiterated that Hong Kong affairs belonged to the internal affairs of China and external forces had no right to interfere.

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