The
five days of scheduled hearings will focus on allegations by her
lawyers of abuses of process committed by Canadian and U.S.
authorities during her arrest in December two years ago at the
Vancouver International Airport.
Meng, 48, is facing charges in the United States of bank fraud
for allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei's [HWT.UL] business
dealings in Iran, causing the bank to break U.S. sanction laws.
She has denied the charges and is fighting extradition from
under house arrest in her Vancouver home, located in an upscale
neighborhood of the Pacific coastal city.
Meng's lawyers have previously alleged that Canadian authorities
improperly communicated with their U.S. counterparts during her
arrest, including sharing identifying details about her
electronic devices.
Canada has denied this and provided affidavits from members of
the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who were
involved in Meng's arrest.
On Monday prosecutors for the Canadian government questioned
Winston Yep, an RCMP constable who was involved in Meng's
arrest, about how the decision was made to allow the Canada
Border Services Agency (CBSA) to arrest Meng, instead of the
RCMP.
Meng's lawyers have argued that Canadian and American
authorities made this decision because CBSA officers have
special privileges in searching and investigating individuals
crossing Canada's borders.
They strove on Monday to highlight lapses of due process during
Meng's arrest, including Yep's failure to promptly complete a
chronological account of the extradition as required by Canadian
extradition law.
Meng's arrest triggered a chill in diplomatic relations between
Ottawa and Beijing that is still continuing. Soon after her
detention, China arrested Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and
Michael Kovrig on espionage charges in what was widely seen as
retaliation.
The trial is scheduled to wrap up in April 2021, although the
potential for appeals means the case could drag on for years
through the Canadian justice system.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Toronto; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman)
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