Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou has applied for a stay of extradition, citing unlawful arrest.
According to a new report from the Vancouver Sun, the defense team for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou says it plans to argue that she shouldn’t be extradited to the United States because she hasn’t violated sanctions under Canadian laws and her arrest at Vancouver’s airport was unlawful.
Wanzhou’s lawyer Scott Fenton told a court on Wednesday that law enforcement and border agents, along with Canadian justice officials, co-ordinated with US FBI agents and “engaged in a pattern of serious Charter [of Rights and Freedoms] violations.”
“The criminal case against Miss Meng is based on allegations that are simply untrue,” her spokesman Benjamin Howes said outside, telling reporters she would apply for a stay of the proceedings.
Fenton told the court that during her three-hour detention in December, Meng’s rights “were placed in total suspension.” The lawyers also claim Meng cannot be extradited because Canada should not extradite a person to face punishment for conduct that is not criminal in Canada.
The bank and wire fraud charges do not meet that criterion because Meng is accused of encouraging HSBC to engage in transactions that violate US sanctions laws. But there would be no risk of fines or forfeiture for any bank in Canada.
“Put another way, the alleged offense could only exist in a country that prohibits international financial transactions in relation to Iran,” the lawyers said in court documents. “Canada is no longer such a country.”
Last December, police arrested the Chinese telecommunications company’s chief financial officer in Vancouver at the request of the United States. In January, the US Justice Department charged Huawei and Meng with conspiring to violate sanctions on Iran.
Meng will next appear in court on September 23, when her defense will make more applications for more disclosure.
