The government of the US is set to launch a formal request to extradite Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou from Canada.
Meng was detained in Vancouver on 1st December 2018 at the request of the US over allegations that she had helped her company to circumvent US trade sanctions on Iran. She was released on bail after 10 days and will return to court on 6th February.
However, the deadline for filing an extradition request falls 60 days after her arrest, i.e. 30th January, and Canadian ambassador to the US David MacNaughton has stated that the request will be made formally before this time.
The arrest has soured relations between China and Canada, with the Chinese government threatening action if Canada refuses to release Meng. Speaking to Reuters, the Chinese foreign ministry said that Meng’s arrest would be considered “serious mistake” on Canada’s part by any objective judge.
Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said: “Canada and the US arbitrarily abused their bilateral extradition treaty to seriously infringe upon a Chinese citizen’s security and legal rights.” The ministry “strongly urges” the US to withdraw the arrest order and extradition request.
