US seeks extradition of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in December 2018 during a flight stopover in Vancouver.
The
Canadian court tussle over the arrest of a Huawei
telecoms executive was put in limbo Thursday when a judge adjourned
the case that pits the United States against China.
Washington
is seeking extradition of Huawei chief financial officer Meng
Wanzhou, who was arrested in December 2018 during a flight stopover
in Vancouver.
Huawei
has been effectively banned from the US, which insists the Chinese
company is an espionage risk.
"I'm
reserving judgement," British Columbia Supreme Court Justice
Heather Holmes said at the end of a four-day hearing.
Further
hearings are scheduled for April, June and September on allegations
of a conspiracy to arrest Meng—the eldest daughter of Huawei
founder Ren Zhengfei—and to crush the Shenzhen-based Huawei.
If
extradited, Meng would face US prosecution on charges of fraud linked
to violations of sanctions against Iran.
Extradition
Four
days of legal arguments this week focused on whether the US charges
would stand up in Canada,
a key test for extradition.
Appeals
by either side could also drag out the case—which has strained
relations between the world's two largest economies—for years.
Each
morning of the hearing, Meng walked out of one of her two luxury
homes where she is staying dressed in black business attire, with her
tracking ankle-bracelet clearly visible.
She
rarely cracked a smile in court and followed proceedings diligently,
listening with an interpreter's help, flipping through documents and
stepping out during breaks to chat with her husband in the public
gallery.
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