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Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou could be set free next week by extradition ruling
- Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes will decide next Wednesday whether the US fraud charges against Meng satisfy Canada’s double criminality rule
- Meng could be released, pending a possible appeal, or Holmes could order the extradition case to proceed
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A crucial ruling in the extradition case against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou that could see her set free will be issued by a Canadian judge next week, British Columbia’s Supreme Court announced on Thursday.
The decision next Wednesday by Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes will address whether the case against Meng satisfies the rule of double criminality, which requires that suspects in extradition cases be accused of something that would constitute a crime in Canada, as well as the requesting country.
Meng’s arrest at Vancouver’s airport on December 1, 2018, on the request of US authorities who want her to face trial in New York on fraud charges, was a pivotal moment in troubled China-US relations.
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Beijing’s relationship with Canada has also been sent to a new low with Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig being arrested on spying charges that have been widely seen as retaliation for Meng’s treatment.
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If Holmes decides double criminality rules have not been satisfied, then Meng could be freed, although that could depend on whether the Canadian government lawyers representing the US decide to appeal. If Holmes says double criminality has been satisfied, the extradition case will continue, with Meng’s lawyers arguing for her to be freed on other grounds.
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