Huawei executive faces extradition hearing in Canada

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Extradition hearing of chief financial officer of Chinese telecom firm Huawei will be held in a Canadian court in Vancouver on Monday after a year-long process.

Meng Wanzhou is fighting an extradition request made to Canadian authorities by the U.S., where she would face fraud charges for allegedly helping her company skirt U.S. sanctions against Iran.

She was arrested in December 2018 at Vancouver airport and has been under house arrest since then.

In September, her legal team requested more documents from the attorney general’s office in a bid to show collusion between Canadian and American authorities and that the arrest was improper.

But the attorney general’s office said Meng’s lawyers had already received sufficient documentation and failed to prove their allegations.

Although Canada does not have sanctions against Iran, her extradition is still possible as her alleged offense is a fraud, a crime both in the U.S. and Canada, according to the attorney general's office.

Her arrest touched off a diplomatic row with China, where incensed officials called for her immediate release.

Repercussions have included the arrest of two Canadians on espionage charges and the refusal of the Chinese to import agriculture and meat products from Canada.

Wanzhou's detention in Canada came at the height of a trade and tariffs war between the U.S. and China, initiated by the Trump administration in 2017.