Testimony of a Canadian police officer acting as the airport liaison when Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested two years ago will continue in court on Tuesday as the witness cross examination in Meng's U.S. extradition hearings enters the final week.
FILE PHOTO: Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou leaves her home to attend a court hearing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada December 7, 2020. REUTERS/Jennifer GauthierVANCOUVER: Testimony of a Canadian police officer acting as the airport liaison when Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested two years ago will continue in court on Tuesday as the witness cross examination in Meng's U.S. extradition hearings enters the final week.
Prosecutors are trying to establish that Meng's arrest by the Canadian federal police and the investigation by the border officials were aboveboard. Meng's lawyers are seeking to prove that Canadian and U.S. authorities illegally directed the Canada Border Services Agency's examination of Meng in order to use the agency’s additional investigative powers to gather information from her without a lawyer present.
Her lawyers have argued in the British Columbia Supreme Court that Meng's extradition should be thrown out based on alleged abuses of process that took place during her investigation by Canadian border officials and subsequent arrest by police, including inappropriate coordination between U.S. and Canadian authorities.Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Ross Lundie testified on Monday that he was"very uncomfortable" being the point of contact for the U.S.
"At the end of the day, I'm not there to provide information and act on behalf of the FBI. I’m there working as an RCMP member," Lundie told the court.Meng’s arrest caused a chill in diplomatic relations between Ottawa and Beijing. Shortly after Meng was detained, China arrested two Canadian men, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who now face spying charges.