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| Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou leaves her home to attend the start of her extradition hearing at B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, British Columbia |
Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou arrived in a Vancouver courtroom on Monday for the start of a trial to decide whether she can be extradited to the United States, as China repeated its call for Canada to release her.
The United States has charged Meng with bank fraud, and accused her of misleading HSBC Holdings Plc about Huawei Technologies Co Ltdโs business in Iran.
Court proceedings show the United States issued the arrest warrant, which Canada acted on in December 2018, because it believes Meng covered up attempts by Huawei-linked companies to sell equipment to Iran, breaking US sanctions against the country.
Meng, 47, is the daughter of Huaweiโs billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei and remains free on bail in Canada. She has said she is innocent and is fighting extradition in part because her alleged conduct was not illegal in Canada, an argument known legally as โdouble criminality.โ
Unlike the United States, Canada did not have sanctions against Iran at the time Canadian officials authorized commencing with the extradition, her lawyers have said.
Meng wore a dark top with polka dots and sat studiously examining a bundle of printed notes, her hair pulled back in her characteristic half pony tail. The courtroom was packed with only standing room available.
The first phase of the trial will last at least four days, but legal experts have said it could be years before a final decision is reached in the case, since Canadaโs slow-moving justice system allows many decisions to be appealed.
Mengโs legal team is currently only scheduled to call evidence in the last week of April, and a second phase of the trial, focusing on abuse of process and whether Canadian officials followed the law while arresting Meng, is set to begin in June. Closing arguments are expected in the last week of September and first week of October.
The case has had a chilling effect on relations between Ottawa and Beijing and China has called the arrest of Meng, who has been living in a mansion in Vancouverโs exclusive Shaughnessy neighbourhood since it occurred, politically motivated.
US President Donald Trump told Reuters in December 2018 he would intervene in Mengโs case if it served US national security interests or helped close a trade deal with China. Chrystia Freeland, Canadaโs foreign minister at the time, quickly warned Washington not to politicize extradition cases.
โThe resolve of the Chinese government to protect Chinese citizensโ proper legal rights is firm and unwavering,โ foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, told reporters during a daily briefing. He called Mengโs case a โserious political matterโ.
โSLAM DUNKโ
Richard Kurland, a federal policy expert and lawyer who is not involved with the case, calls Mengโs double criminality argument around the absence of Canadian sanctions against Iran a sure bet.
โI think the defence has a slam dunk. There are no Iranian sanctions in Canada and anything (the prosecutors bring up) thatโs related to an Iranian sanction in Canada may well be dismissed,โ he said.
Soon after Mengโs arrest, China detained two Canadians, former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor. China has denied their arrests were related to Mengโs case.
โWe are fundamentally convinced of her innocence. We have confidence in the rule of law โฆ her trial is critical for the company,โ Huawei Canadaโs Vice President of Corporate Affairs Alykhan Velshi told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp on Monday.
Mengโs legal team argued in November that she could not be extradited as Canada did not have sanctions against Iran at the time Canadian officials authorized commencing with the extradition, meaning her conduct was not illegal.
In response, Canadaโs attorney general said Meng was arrested on charges of fraud and misleading HSBC, which is a crime in both countries.
โAs this case is actively before the courts, it would not be appropriate for the minister to comment,โ Rachel Rappaport, a spokeswoman for federal Justice Minister David Lametti, said on Monday.
REUTERS
