Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou’s lawyers urge Canada’s justice minister to halt extradition case in name of ‘human decency’
- Statement urges minister David Lametti to withdraw the proceedings because they are without merit
- Says ending the protracted legal battle would be ‘in Canada's national interests’
Lawyers for Meng Wanzhou have made a submission to Canada’s minister of justice that calls on him to withdraw extradition proceedings against the Huawei CFO and lays out the legal basis for him to do so in the name of “human decency” and other “Canadian values”.
The submission was announced in a press statement issued on Monday morning in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The statement said minister David Lametti should “exercise his discretion to withdraw the proceedings because the extradition proceedings are without merit and cessation of the proceedings would be [in] Canada's national interests”.
The US is requesting Meng’s extradition to face bank fraud charges related to an alleged breach of US sanctions against Iran.
She was arrested at the US’ request on a December 1 stopover at Vancouver’s airport, where she had been due to change planes on a trip from Hong Kong to Mexico.
“From time to time, Canadian governments have had to make difficult decisions, sometimes at odds with the foreign policy initiatives of its allies, including the United States, in order to assert essential Canadian values of human decency, fairness, tolerance and respect for human rights and the rule of law,” said the statement.
“In our view, Canada is at [a] crossroads respecting the United States' request that Canada extradite Ms Meng, for conduct that could not be an offence in Canada and which is at odds with Canadian values and established foreign policy regarding Iran.”
The release did not include the actual submission, but it describes its arguments. These were both legal and political, reflecting the dual nature of the hotly contested case that has sparked an unprecedented diplomatic rift between Canada and China.
Canada’s ministry of justice said it “cannot confirm receipt of the letter”.
“Canada is a country that respects the rule of law. The extradition process in Canada is conducted within the guiding principles of the Extradition Act, our extradition treaty and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” a spokesman said.
“As this matter is currently before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
China arrested two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, in a move widely seen as retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Meng. China accuses Spavor and Kovrig of espionage.
The statement, signed by lawyers Richard Peck, David Martin, Scott Fenton and Eric Gottardi, said the submission was made in light of “recent comments by former prime minister of Canada Jean Chretien and of the current minister of foreign affairs, Chrystia Freeland”.
Chretien, prime minister from 1993 to 2004 and himself a lawyer, has been calling for Canada to withdraw the extradition case against Meng.
Meng Wanzhou faces two-year battle, with January start to extradition case
Freeland rejected that idea as setting a “dangerous precedent”, in comments she made at a televised press conference on June 13.
The statement by Meng’s lawyers said there was an absence of double criminality – the requirement that extradited suspects face charges for offences that would constitute crimes in Canada.
The lawyers described the US’ allegation that Meng defrauded a bank in Hong Kong in 2013 by misleading a banker there about Huawei’s relationship with a firm called Skycom, that sold telecoms equipment in Iran.
The bank has been identified as HSBC in submissions to British Columbia’s Supreme Court, which would hear the extradition case if it proceeds. A hearing would be expected to last until at least October 2020.
Canada denies border officers abused Meng Wanzhou’s rights at airport
“Even if Ms Meng made a misrepresentation (which is denied) to the foreign bank in Hong Kong about Skycom and its commercial sales into Iran, that conduct could not, as a matter of Canadian law, ever give rise to a successful prosecution for fraud in Canada,” the statement said.
“That is because the foreign bank could never be at risk of economic loss in Canada under Canadian sanctions law. Put simply, the foreign bank did nothing that could have tripped any Canadian criminal or sanctions laws.”
But the statement also outlined a political argument.
“Over our history, the Canadian government has stood up for Canadian values, including the rule of law, even in circumstances where this has meant a departure from American foreign policy initiatives,” it said.
“In our respectful submission, ending the extradition proceedings against Ms Meng now is entirely consistent with Canada's commitment to the rule of law, our international treaties and Canada's independent foreign policy as reflected in its continuing support for the peace and denuclearisation process [in Iran].”
US President Donald Trump said in December that he would intervene in Meng’s case if it would help secure a trade deal with Beijing.
