Dyears of legal arguments at the start of the extradition hearing, in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Me Mona Duckett argued that the United States had “abused” the extradition process in a “flagrant” and “disturbing” way. “. She pleaded that the Americans had been “selective” in what they disclosed to Canada to request the extradition of Ms. Meng, arrested at their request at the Vancouver airport in December 2018.
Duckett argued before BC Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes that Canada relies on the good faith of its extradition partners to tell the truth, without “willful manipulation”.
The last round of hearings in Ms. Meng’s extradition case in Vancouver began on Wednesday, nearly three years after the arrest of the leader of Chinese giant Huawei. The court is due to hear arguments from Canada’s Justice Department and defense lawyers over the next few weeks to determine whether Ms. Meng should be extradited to the United States on fraud charges.
U.S. prosecutors argue that Meng Wanzhou misled HSBC bank about Huawei’s dealings with another company that operated in Iran, putting the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions against Tehran. Ms. Meng and Huawei have always denied these accusations.
Last month, Justice Holmes ruled against allowing new evidence to be filed in the case. The judge found that this evidence did not “expressly” support the defense thesis that the American legal summary of the allegations made against her in the United States was unreasonable.
Ms. Meng’s attorneys had argued that these documents included email exchanges and spreadsheets that undermine the fraud allegations against her. According to the defense, these documents prove that the United States misled the tribunal in its summary to the Canadian authorities to obtain his extradition.
Ms Meng is out on bail and has been living in one of her Vancouver homes since her arrest at the Vancouver airport more than 31 months ago.
This affair has seriously soured relations between Canada and China. The arrests of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, immediately thereafter, are generally viewed as retaliation by Beijing.
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