Canada judge sides with Huawei CFO on some claims but does not dismiss U.S. extradition case
VANCOUVER/TORONTO, (Reuters) - A judge has blocked an attempt by Canada’s attorney general to get parts of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou’s arguments dismissed in the case to extradite her to the United States, according to a ruling released yesterday.
However, the judge sided with the attorney general in agreeing that Meng’s arguments were not strong enough to warrant an immediate dismissal of the case.
The ruling comes as a week- long witness testimony is under way in the British Columbia Supreme Court, in a different part of the same extradition case.
Meng’s assertion that the United States misrepresented evidence of alleged fraud in its formal request to Canada for her extradition has an “air of reality,” Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes wrote in her decision, dated Oct. 28. She also agreed that Meng was entitled to introduce some additional evidence in the case record, “to a limited extent.”
“Some of that evidence is realistically capable of challenging the reliability” of the U. S. request for extradition, Holmes said.
The office of Attorney General David Lametti did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Huawei Canada called the decision “a substantial victory,” in a statement to Reuters.
Canada’s Department of Justice said it respects Holmes’ decision.
Meng, 48, was arrested at Vancouver International Airport in December 2018 while on a layover bound for Mexico. Meng’s case turns on whether she misled HSBC about Huawei’s business dealings in Iran. The United States has argued she is guilty of fraud for causing the bank to break sanctions against Iran.
Meng has said she is innocent and is fighting the charges from Vancouver, where she is under house arrest.
Her arrest caused diplomatic relations between Ottawa and Beijing to become rocky. Soon after her detention, China arrested two Canadian citizens on espionage charges.