Huawei Exec Facing Extradition To Appear In Canada Court

A senior Chinese telecom executive whose Vancouver arrest on a US warrant triggered a diplomatic row between Ottawa and Beijing was to appear in court Wednesday to fight for her release

Vancouver, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th May, 2019 ):A senior Chinese telecom executive whose Vancouver arrest on a US warrant triggered a diplomatic row between Ottawa and Beijing was to appear in court Wednesday to fight for her release.

Canada's justice department said the court will set the next key dates in an extradition process -- including the start of the formal hearing for Meng Wanzhou, which could take months or even years.

Meng herself is expected to make only a brief appearance before the judge to deal with matters described by officials as "administrative in nature." Her lawyers are also likely to renew their objections to her arrest in December while seeking an easing of her bail conditions.

Relations between Ottawa and Beijing were thrown into crisis by the arrest of Meng, the chief financial officer of telecom giant Huawei and possible heir to her father's company.

Washington wants to put Meng on trial on fraud charges for allegedly violating Iran sanctions and lying about it to US banks, but the case has become a major irritant for Ottawa.

Following her arrest, China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian businessman Michael Spavor in what observers saw as retaliation.

China later announced it suspected Kovrig of spying and stealing state secrets and alleged Spavor had provided him with intelligence.

Two other Canadians convicted of drug trafficking, meanwhile, were sentenced to death. And Beijing recently blocked Canadian shipments of canola and pork worth billions of dollars.

Canada has accused Beijing of arbitrarily detaining both Kovrig and Spavor, and called the death penalties for Canadians Fen Wei and Robert Schellenberg "cruel and inhumane."It has also rallied the support of a dozen countries, including Britain, France, Germany and the US, as well as the EU, NATO and the G7, in its diplomatic feud with China.