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Meng, 49, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, is
accused by the United States of misleading HSBC about her
company’s business dealings in Iran, causing the bank to violate
U.S. sanctions.
She was arrested at Vancouver's airport in December 2018 on a
U.S. warrant and has been living under house arrest in one of
the city's wealthiest neighbourhoods while her case makes its
way through Canada's courts.
Meng's lawyers allege that abuses of process took place leading
up to her arrest and afterward. They claim that statements made
by then-President Donald Trump meant her case was politically
motivated and would mean she would not receive a fair trial in
the United States.
As a result, they demand the extradition case should be
overthrown.
Following testimony from Canadian border officials and police
officers involved in the case in late 2020, the forthcoming five
days of hearings in the British Columbia Supreme Court will
focus on Trump's alleged interference in the case, as well as
outstanding issues from witness testimony and other abuses of
process arguments.
"When you look at how President Trump politicized the Department
of Justice – when you look at the people he chose to pardon –
you understand that in his eyes the justice system was a tool to
get what he wanted, reward who he wanted, and punish who he
wanted," Alykhan Velshi, vice president of corporate affairs for
Huawei Canada, said.
He called Meng's arrest "a master class in how to violate a
person’s rights."
There was no immediate comment from Canada’s justice department.
With Trump no longer in office, Canadian prosecutors recently
filed submissions arguing this allegation is no longer relevant.
"The facts on which it is based – statements by a president no
longer in office, about a possible intervention in this case
that never occurred, purportedly to achieve a trade deal that
has long since been successfully negotiated – have no past,
present or prospective impact on these proceedings,” prosecutors
said in a filing made public Feb. 18.
Meng's arrest caused tensions between Beijing and Ottawa, and
soon afterward, China detained two Canadians, who continue to
have limited access to legal counsel or diplomatic officials.
Meng's case is scheduled to wrap in May.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton and Sarah Berman; Editing by Denny
Thomas and Lisa Shumaker)
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