The five days of hearings will focus on alleged abuses of
process committed by Canadian and U.S. authorities during Meng's
December 2018 arrest at Vancouver International Airport.
Meng, 48, is charged by the United States with bank fraud for
allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei's business dealings in
Iran, causing the bank to break U.S. sanction laws.
She denies the charges and is fighting extradition from under
house arrest in Vancouver.
Meng's lawyers have argued that Canadian authorities improperly
communicated with their American counterparts, including
allegedly sharing identifying details about her electronic
devices.
Canada has denied this and provided affidavits to that effect
from members of the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
who were involved in Meng's arrest.
Cross-examinations this week will largely comprise Meng's team
focusing on the alleged involvement of U.S. officials in her
arrest, omissions or improper disclosures from Canada, and
discrepancies between RCMP officers' affidavits and emails that
Canada's Justice Department was forced to disclose, a source
familiar with Huawei's strategy said. The source was not
authorized to speak publicly.
Abuse of process arguments are scheduled for Feb. 16 to March 5,
2021, the Justice Department has said.
Calling live witnesses in an extradition case is "very, very
unusual," said Leo Adler, a Toronto-based extradition lawyer,
particularly if both sides will be able to cross-examine. Adler
is not involved with the case.
Meng's team was able to do that based on documents released to
them, Adler said, another aspect that is rare in extradition
cases.
"You don't normally get much by way of disclosure and even less
often, way less often, do you get the right to cross examine
witnesses," Adler said.
Meng has sought the release of documents, including emails
between Canadian and U.S. authorities, to prove abuses of
process took place.
The strategy has seen some success. In late 2019, the British
Columbia Supreme Court's Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes
ruled that Canada must release a trove of documents to Meng's
lawyers.
Since then, Meng has largely been blocked from accessing more
documents, as federal and provincial judges agreed with the
Canadian government that handing them over could threaten
national security and attorney-client privilege.
Meng's case, which is expected to last years, has strained
relations between Ottawa and Beijing. Soon after her detention,
China arrested Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael
Kovrig, charging them with espionage.
Hearings are scheduled to wrap up in April 2021.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Toronto; Editing by Denny
Thomas and Daniel Wallis)
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