Canada had to arrest Meng Wanzhou and it was not arbitrary, but detention is now unlawful, her lawyer says
- Lawyer Gib van Ert’s comments at extradition hearing are in contrast with the position of China’s government about Huawei executive’s 2018 arrest
- Meng’s lawyer presented reports suggesting the basis for US charges, relating to transactions by foreign entities, was unlawful overreach
Lawyer Gib van Ert said Meng’s detention on a US fraud warrant was not arbitrary, a position in contrast to repeated assertions otherwise by China’s government.
“Canada had to detain Ms Meng, having received what was, on its face, a bona fide extradition request. We were bound by our treaty obligations to take seriously the US claims, to take the steps needed to detain Ms Meng pending the determination of her extradition,” he said.
“We had to do those things and we did them and there’s nothing about that that is an arbitrary detention. But we nevertheless say that it is now revealed to be an unlawful detention.”
Van Ert told Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes of the Supreme Court of British Columbia that she could not avoid ruling on whether the US had jurisdiction over Meng by referring the matter to Canada’s justice minister.
“If this extradition request is, as we say, contrary to international law, the consequence of that is that Ms Meng’s detention is unlawful … that’s not a matter you can leave to the minister. That’s a matter that you have to see to my lady,” he said.