The Canadian Government has allowed the progression of the extradition hearing against the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, who was detained in Canada last year.
Meng Wanzhou the is currently under house arrest will appear in a Vancouver court on March 6th. Meng and Huawei face US charges of conspiring to violate US sanctions on Iran.
Legal experts predict that Meng Wanzhou would eventually be extradited to the United States, however this could take years due to the slow moving judiciary system in Canada.
Meng’s lawyer has expressed his disappointment that the Minister of Justice decided to proceed with the extradition hearing. The US President has repeatedly stated that he would use Meng’s case to negotiate trade deal between China and US.
The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa made a statement- “This is not a merely judicial case, but a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise. The subsequent developments have proved this. The so-called “rule of law” and “judicial independence” asserted by Canada cannot cover up the mistakes made by the Canadian side on the case of Meng Wanzhou.”
Immediately after the detention of Meng in Canada, China arrested two Canadian nationals on national security grounds, also a Chinese court sentenced Canadian man death for smuggling drugs.