There are ‘serious concerns’ over the Meng Wanzhou case due to Donald Trump’s comments, her lawyer tells court
- The Huawei CFO faces extradition to the US after she was accused of lying to banks about the company’s alleged dealings with Iran
- In court on Wednesday, her lawyer raised worries over ‘political character and motivation, comments by the US president’ in the context of the case
A lawyer for Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou has accused Canada of letting the US pursue her extradition despite the “political character” of the case, citing comments by US President Donald Trump, at a proceeding in British Columbia’s Supreme Court.
Meng, Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei, was in court in Vancouver on Wednesday to set a date for the formal start of her extradition hearing. Proceedings were adjourned until May 8.
She is wanted by the United States, which has indicted her on charges of defrauding banks while violating US sanctions against Iran. She was arrested at Vancouver’s airport on December 1, as she changed planes on her way from Hong Kong to Mexico.
One of her lawyers, Richard Peck, called it “a rare case”, saying he had concerns about Trump’s role.
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“There are serious concerns … concerns about political character and motivation, comments by the US president,” he said. “There are issues that resound in the context of double criminality.”
On December 11, Trump told Reuters that he might intervene in Meng’s case if it would help his trade war with China.
“If I think it's good for the country, if I think it's good for what will be certainly the largest trade deal ever made – which is a very important thing – what's good for national security – I would certainly intervene if I thought it was necessary,” the president said.
Peck also told Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes on Monday that the treatment of Meng – also known as Sabrina Meng and Cathy Meng – leading up to her arrest had raised concerns.
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Meng is suing Canadian authorities for allegedly violating her rights by detaining and questioning her before declaring that she was under arrest.
“There are issues arising out of the treatment of Ms Meng in her arrival at Vancouver International Airport, her detention and subsequent arrest,” Peck said, adding that he anticipated the “complex case” would proceed in several stages, including an abuse-of-process motion.
Peck said Meng’s team had submitted freedom-of-information requests regarding her treatment by police and border authorities.
Lead Crown Counsel John Gibb-Carsley told the court that he and another of Meng’s legal team, David Martin, had agreed to adjourn the proceedings until May 8. Holmes agreed. No date for the formal start of the extradition hearing was set.
After the hearing, Meng’s husband, Carlos Liu Xiaozong, chatted with Wang Chengjun, China’s Deputy Consul General in Vancouver.
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Wang and an apparent colleague, who have attended all of Meng’s court appearances, had been rebuffed by a sheriff when they asked to sit in the front of the courtroom.
“We don’t want trouble,” Wang said.
“What kind of trouble are you suggesting?” asked the sheriff before sending the diplomats to the back of the packed room.
Meng’s arrest at US request on December 1 triggered a furious reaction from China, which has since detained multiple Canadian citizens.
She was released on C$10 million (US$7.5 million) bail and is living in her C$5.6 million (US$4.2 million) home in the Vancouver suburbs. She wears a GPS tracker on her ankle and is allowed to travel around the city under the watch of private guards, while subject to a curfew.
Last Friday, the day her extradition hearing was approved, Meng filed her civil lawsuit against Canadian authorities, saying the way she was treated leading up to her arrest violated her Canadian charter rights.
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On Monday, the Chinese government accused two detained Canadians of acting together to steal state secrets. The detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig since December has been widely seen as retaliation for Meng’s arrest.
Huawei is also reportedly preparing to sue the US government.
Huawei and Meng face 13 US criminal charges of fraud, conspiracy and obstruction related to the alleged use of an undisclosed subsidiary to do business in Iran, in breach of US sanctions.
Huawei is separately charged with 10 counts relating to the alleged theft of trade secrets from T-Mobile, involving a phone-testing robot.
The extradition hearing could last months, even years, according to Justice William Ehrcke, who presided over Meng’s bail hearing in January.
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Others attended the hearing. One elderly Chinese woman, who gave her name as Ms Lin, said she was on holiday from Guangdong, visiting her daughter in Vancouver, and decided to use a free day to express her support for Meng.
“Of course, I believe her. She is innocent,” said Lin, whose husband was outside protesting. “It is not fair.”
