By Elishya Perera
MONTRÉAL, Québec (CWBN)_ Canadian prosecutors have asked the British Columbia Supreme court to disregard an affidavit submitted by Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou’s legal team in which a former US government lawyer testified regarding certain comments made by US President Donald Trump.
According to documents released yesterday (Dec 2), the prosecutors argue that the evidence is “irrelevant” and “unnecessary” to Meng’s US extradition case in Canada.
Michael Gottlieb, a White House lawyer under then US President Barack Obama, testified in the affidavit (submitted in July), that President Trump’s comments that he was willing to use the Huawei official as a bargaining chip in trade talks with Beijing suggest he departed from long-lived legal policies which intend to promote the “impartial administration of justice”.
Therefore, Meng’s legal team claim that the extradition case against her should be thrown out since her arrest was tainted by political motives.
However, Canadian prosecutors point out that Meng’s allegations question whether “certain statements by foreign officials have … prejudiced the integrity of the Canadian justice system”, which requires the court to “determine not only whether foreign officials have complied with foreign legal principles” but also “review their conduct in light of internal governmental policies and norms”.
Accordingly, the prosecutors say the Court “lacks the expertise to engage in such an inquiry”.
The 46-year-old international executive is charged with fraud and conspiracy for allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei’s business dealings in Iran, causing the bank to breach US sanction laws. She was arrested in Vancouver, in December 2018, on a warrant from the United States.
Although the extradition case is scheduled to wrap up in April 2021, potential appeals on either side may drag the case on for years.
Edited by Kaveesha Fernando
