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Canada arrested Meng in Vancouver on Dec. 1 at the request of
the United States, which has brought sweeping charges against
her and China's Huawei Technologies Co that portray the company
as a threat to U.S. national security. Meng was charged with
bank and wire fraud to violate American sanctions against Iran.
In a civil lawsuit filed in the British Columbia Supreme Court
on Friday, Meng's lawyers said the manner in which officers
obtained evidence and information from Meng constituted serious
violations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Meng
is the daughter of Huawei's founder.
It added that Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers
deliberately delayed the immediate execution of an arrest
warrant and unlawfully subjected Meng to detention, search and
interrogation to extract evidence from her before she was
arrested.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Canada's federal police -
only exercised its arrest warrant three hours after Meng's
"unlawful" detention at the airport, the lawsuit added.
There was no immediate response from Canada's justice ministry
or the RCMP. The CBSA said it did not comment on matters before
the courts.
Meng, who is out on bail, is due to appear in a Vancouver court
at 10 a.m. PST (1800 GMT) on Wednesday, when a date will be set
for her extradition hearing. The Canadian government approved
her extradition proceedings on Friday.
China, whose relations with Canada have deteriorated over the
affair, denounced Canada's decision on Friday and repeated
previous demands for Meng's release.
The lawsuit further alleged that Meng was directed to surrender
all her electronic devices, computers and passwords and that
CBSA officers then unlawfully opened and viewed the contents of
the seized devices in violation of her right to privacy.
CBSA officers also searched Meng's luggage in violation of the
right to privacy, the lawsuit said. "The CBSA Officers knew or
were recklessly indifferent to the fact that they had no
authority to conduct such a search, which search was performed
under the false pretense of a routine customs or immigration
related examination," according to the lawsuit.
(Reporting by Julie Gordon and David Ljunggren in Ottawa;
Writing by Denny Thomas; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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