Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou’s defence team is arguing that although her arrest was legal, her ongoing detainment is not.
Vancouver authorities arrested Meng in December 2018 at the request of the United States for violating sanctions in Iran.
Meng has remained on house arrest in Vancouver since her arrest. Huawei Canada has repeatedly stated that it trusts Canada’s judicial system and that it believes the system will prove Meng’s innocence.
Her defence team has previously argued that Canada had no legitimate jurisdiction over Meng’s actions. Prosecutors have argued that Canada had no choice but to arrest Meng due to treaty obligations to the United States since there was a warrant for her arrest.
Reuters reports that Meng’s lawyers are now saying they agree Canada had to arrest Meng, but that her continued detainment was illegal.
“There’s nothing about it that is an arbitrary detention, but … it is now revealed to be an unlawful detention,” defence lawyer Gib van Ert stated in court on March 31st.
The Chinese government has stated that it believes Meng’s arrest and possible extradition are illegal. Meng’s case is expected to come to a close in May.
Source: Reuters