Mahima
Chief Financial Officer of Huawei Technology Co Ltd Meng Wanzhou will appear in a Canadian court on Monday for the last phase of her U.S. extradition. The final hearing of two yearlong legal proceedings will be held in May.
49-years-old Meng was arrested in December, 2018 for allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei’s business dealings in Iran due to which the bank violated U.S. sanctions.
She was arrested at Vancouver International Airport on a U.S. warrant and since then has been under house arrest.
The decision will be given by Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes in British Columbia’s Supreme Court regarding her extradition which will be approved by the federal minister of justice.
From Monday, the court will hear the arguments alleging legal missteps taken by U.S. and Canadian authorities during Meng’s initial interrogation and arrest which should invalidate her extradition.
Meng’s team had previously argued for rejection of extradition on the ground of alleged political interference by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump had given a statement to the Reuters back in December 2018 expressing his will to intervene if it would serve national security interests or help finalising a trade deal with China.
The Canadian prosecutors have asserted that appropriate procedures were followed. They also argued that previous statements given by Donald Trump hold no importance as he is now the Former U.S. President.
Hearings are scheduled to be finished in May. However, the option for appeals remains available to both the sides, stating that case may be dragged for years.
The case has already caused a rift between Canada and china. Following Meng’s arrest, two Canadian citizens – Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were detained by China on espionage charges, which Canada called retaliation.
China’s Global times which is published by the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, People’s Daily, reported that Spavor and Kovrig’s trail would begin soon, citing an anonymous source.