Huawei’s chief financial officer intends to seek a stay on extradition proceedings, in part based on statements by Donald Trump about the case that her lawyers say disqualifies the United States from pursuing the matter in Canada.
Meng Wanzhou, 47, who faces charges related to Iran sanctions violations, was appearing at a Vancouver courthouse on Wednesday to set a timetable for her upcoming extradition hearing.
“The criminal case against Miss Meng is based on allegations that are simply untrue,” her spokesman Benjamin Howes said outside, telling reporters she would apply for a stay of the proceedings.
He alleged that “political factors” were behind her arrest and said her rights had been violated.
Her lawyers claimed comments by Trump, who said the charges could be dropped if that would help China trade talks, showed the case was politically motivated.
Huawei said in a statement on Wednesday that the criminal case against Meng was “guided by political considerations and tactics, not by the rule of law”.
Meng’s appearance was initially intended to be brief but the defence spent several hours reprising their objections to her December arrest in Vancouver. Prosecutors, meanwhile, indicated that they wanted to fast-track the case.
The next court date in the process, which could last years, was set for 23 September, while the formal extradition hearings are expected to begin in January.
Relations between Ottawa and Beijing were thrown into crisis by the arrest of Meng, the chief financial officer of telecom company Huawei and possible heir to her father’s company.
Washington wants to put Meng on trial on fraud charges for allegedly violating Iran sanctions and lying about it to US banks. The case has become a major irritant for Ottawa. Both Huawei and Meng have denied all the charges.
After her arrest, China detained the former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and the businessman Michael Spavor in what observers saw as retaliation.
China later announced it suspected Kovrig of spying and stealing state secrets and alleged that Spavor had provided him with intelligence.
Two other Canadians convicted of drug trafficking, meanwhile, were sentenced to death. And Beijing recently blocked Canadian shipments of canola and pork worth billions of dollars.
Canada has accused Beijing of arbitrarily detaining both Kovrig and Spavor, and called the death penalties for Canadians Fen Wei and Robert Schellenberg “cruel and inhumane”. It has rallied the support of a dozen countries including Britain, France, Germany and the US, as well as the EU, Nato and the G7.
