The extradition hearing of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou commenced in a Vancouver court this week and her lawyers will seek to prove that U.S. and Canada officials abused her rights when she was detained at Vancouver International Airport in December 2018.
Five days of testimony are expected before the British Columbia Supreme Court after which the hearings will be adjourned until February when Meng's counsel are expected to argue that U.S. President Donald Trump "poisoned" her chance of a fair trial when he said shortly after her arrest that he might exchange Meng for trade concessions from China.
Huawei said it would concentrate initially on how Trump and his administration ordered Canada authorities "to engage in a deceptive and improper search - thereby violating a court order and Meng's charter rights," CNET News quoted Meng's legal team as saying.
Meng's lawyers have asserted that Canada authorities improperly communicated with their American counterparts - including allegedly sharing personal details about their client's electronic devices.
Meng's lawyers requested this week's evidentiary hearing to convince Justice Heather Holmes that Canada's federal police and border agents violated Meng's rights in questioning her and searching her devices in the three hours after she disembarked from a flight from Hong Kong but before her arrest.
They will also say that seizing and turning over the contents of her electronic devices to the FBI was itself a violation of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a report from The Associated Press said.
On Monday, the police officer who arrested Meng testified the apprehension was carried out strictly in accordance with the rules.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constable Winston Yep - the first witness to testify in the extradition case - also told the court the U.S. requested data on her phone and laptop be secured so that it could not be "erased remotely."
The 48-year old Huawei top executive and eldest daughter of its billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei is charged by the U.S. with bank fraud for allegedly providing HSBC with false information about the China technology company's business links in Iran - prompting HSBC to breach U.S. sanction policies. The US is seeking her extradition.
Meng has denied any misconduct and argues her long-running extradition case has been politicized by Trump who views it as a "bargaining chip" in a trade dispute with China.
Since her arrest, Meng has become the most prominent target of an extensive U.S. offensive against China's biggest technology company. The case has escalated diplomatic friction between China and the two North American countries.
Meng is embroiled in a legal fight that could drag on for years. While final court proceedings are set to take place in April, appeals by her lawyers could extend the process longer with some extradition cases in Canada lasting as long as 10 years.
