The five men were all locked in disputes with their onetime employer, the Chinese technology giant Huawei. And they had all joined a group on the social app WeChat to organize, reported New York Times.

The employees’ messages in the chat group included no hard evidence that Huawei’s activities in Iran were unlawful. Yet within weeks, the Chinese police had arrested all five men, two of them told The New York Times. 

Speaking to the newspaper, two of the employees said they were imprisoned for eight and three months.

The arrests came about two weeks after Huawei's chief financial officer and daughter were arrested in Canada on charges of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, reported Radio Farda.

China is one of Iran's biggest trading partner and ally.

Last month as the coronavirus crisis unfolded China asked the U.S. to lift its sanctions on Iran, reported Radio Farda.

The U.S. government has officially accused Huawei and its chief financial officer of illegally sending US equipment and technology to Iran and transferring money out of the country by deceiving U.S. banks, reported the news portal.