UPDATE 3-Canada says officials did not act improperly when arresting Huawei CFO


Reuters | Ottawa | Updated: 24-09-2019 03:18 IST | Created: 24-09-2019 03:11 IST
UPDATE 3-Canada says officials did not act improperly when arresting Huawei CFO
Representative Image Image Credit: ANI
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There is no evidence Canadian border officials or police acted improperly when Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was detained and arrested at Vancouver's airport nearly 10 months ago, the Attorney General of Canada said in a filing released on Monday. The filing was made public as Meng and her lawyers were in British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver arguing for additional disclosure surrounding the arrest. The defense claims Meng was unlawfully searched and questioned under the ruse of an immigration check and wants to halt extradition proceedings.

The attorney general of Canada has already made extensive disclosure to Meng in the extradition proceedings that has substantially, if not entirely, provided Meng with all non-privileged materials that Meng is seeking in the disclosure application, the AG said in the submission. Meng, 47, was detained at Vancouver's airport on Dec. 1 at the request of the United States, where she is charged with bank fraud and accused of misleading HSBC Holdings Plc about Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's business in Iran. She has said she is innocent and is fighting extradition.

An extradition hearing itself is not scheduled to start until January, but the two sides are already in court. "There is no evidence that the conduct of officials, either Canadian or foreign, has compromised the fairness of the extradition proceedings," Canada's attorney general said in the filing.

"No purpose would be served in providing further disclosure." The attorney general said the defense had already been provided with extensive disclosure. The arrest has strained China's relations with both the United States and Canada.

At Monday's hearing before Justice Heather Holmes of the British Columbia Supreme Court, Meng lawyer Richard Peck, said the Canadian border agency and police delayed implementing Meng’s rights, and gave the border agency an opportunity to interrogate her, with plans to share the information with the Canadian police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). "We refer to this as a 'covert criminal investigation' under the pretext of an admissibility examination for immigration purposes," Peck said.

The Attorney General of Canada said in its filing that the border officers acted pursuant to "lawful authority to determine whether the applicant and her goods were admissible to Canada." Meng arrived at the Vancouver court on Monday in a burnt orange coat and wearing an electronic monitor on her left ankle above silver glittering shoes. She sat in the well of the courtroom next to an interpreter, wearing a long purple dress and with her hair pulled back with a black velvet bow.

'UNLAWFUL DETENTION'

Meng's lawyers have said in court papers that she was unlawfully detained, searched and questioned for over three hours after she landed on a flight from Hong Kong. Under the ruse of an immigration check, they claim Canadian officials collected evidence for U.S. authorities.

Extradition proceedings against Meng should be halted if officials abused the process, the lawyers say. Besides accusations of misconduct related to her detention, they argue the United States is using Meng for economic and political gain, noting that after her arrest, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would intervene if it would help close a trade deal. Vancouver lawyer Gary Botting, who has seen a video of Meng being detained at the airport, said immigration officials came across as "Keystone Cops."

"There are real questions about whether her rights were violated," said Botting, who briefed Meng's defense team on Canada's extradition law after her arrest but is no longer involved with the case. Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, spent 10 days in jail in December but was then released on C$10 million ($7.5 million) bail and is living in one of her two multimillion-dollar homes in Vancouver. She is required to wear an electronic ankle bracelet and pay for security guards.

Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, has been accused by the United States of activities contrary to national security or foreign policy interests. U.S. and Chinese officials resumed trade talks last week, as the world’s two largest economies try to negotiate a way out of their 14-month trade war.

 

Also Read: BRIEF-Huawei Technologies CFO Meng Wanzhou Arrives At Vancouver Courtroom

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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