Meng Wanzhou and her lawyers are excluded as Canadian extradition case moves behind closed doors
- A Vancouver judge hears potentially sensitive evidence that Canadian government lawyers want withheld, on grounds including national security
- Meng’s lawyers hope the evidence will bolster a case that she is the victim of an abuse of process
Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou’s extradition case in Canada moved behind closed doors on Tuesday, for discussions about potentially sensitive evidence that government lawyers say needs to be kept secret from Meng and her lawyers.
The evidence is being pursued by Meng’s team to press an argument that she is a victim of an abuse of process, as the US seeks her extradition to New York to face fraud charges. It includes correspondence and notes by Canadian government employees, including police and border officers and lawyers.
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But the Canadian government lawyers who are representing US interests in the case have claimed various privileges as they refuse to turn the evidence over. Some has been redacted and some withheld on national security grounds.
On Tuesday, the public and media were excluded from the hearing in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver before Madam Justice Heather Holmes.
Meng’s lawyers were also prevented from attending; instead, a lawyer with special security clearance known as an amicus curiae has been appointed to present potentially alternate arguments to those of the government lawyers.
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The amicus, Toronto barrister Anil Kapoor, is being paid by Meng but is technically an impartial adviser to the court.
The in camera, ex parte hearing about evidence disclosure is scheduled to continue until Friday, but might be wrapped up quicker. The overall extradition case is expected to last well into 2021, but appeals could drag out the process for years.
Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested at Vancouver’s airport on December 1, 2018, in a case that has upended China’s relations with the US and Canada. She is under partial house arrest as she fights extradition.
