On Jan. 12, Meng applied for a relaxation of her bail conditions at the British Columbia Superior Court in Vancouver, Canada, but the prosecution opposed the change. In the court, the Canadian prosecution lawyers also revealed that huawei had chartered a Boeing 777 plane to bring the company’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou back to China from Vancouver. The prosecution said this was because Meng’s extradition case would have made a key decision last May on whether Meng had committed “double criminality”, a ruling that affects the U.S. extradition process.
Meng, 48, has been taking judicial action to avoid extradition from Canada to the United States since her arrest at Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 1, 2018. Last May, a Canadian judge sided with prosecutors representing the Canadian government on a key aspect of Meng’s extradition an, allowing her extradition hearing to continue. The ruling supported the prosecutor’s argument that Meng’s alleged conduct was illegal in both Canada and the United States and therefore met the “double criminality” standard.
John Gibb-Carsley, a lawyer representing the Canadian government, told Tuesday’s hearing on the application for a change in bail that before the ruling was announced, Huawei chartered a Boeing 777 from China Southern Airlines to bring Meng back to China if the “dual criminality” ruling was in her favor.
Reuters reported that the move was revealed when Carsley cross-examined Meng’s husband, Liu Xiaoban, as Huawei lawyers sought to apply for a relaxation of Meng’s bail conditions, including a relaxation of her daytime supervision requirements outside of curfew hours. Carsley said the private plane reserved for Meng’s victory flight was a Boeing 777 with a capacity of more than 360 people, chartered with the assistance of the Chinese consulate. He asked, “Are you aware that …… that if your wife, Ms. Meng, wins the court decision, there will be arrangements to take her back to China?” Liu Xiaoban replied in the affirmative. Carsley then asked, “Are you aware that members of the Chinese consulate were also involved in the charter arrangements for that flight?” Liu Xiaoban replied, “I don’t know.”
During the cross-examination session, Liu Xiaoban noted that he was concerned that his wife might have contracted the new coronavirus from the supervising security officer assigned to her. Meng’s lawyers are trying to relax the conditions of her bail so that she is no longer supervised by security personnel after she leaves her Vancouver home. Liu Xiaoban raised concerns that their two children would be identified by the public because of the guards’ presence. In court, however, lawyers for the Canadian government sought to undermine Liu Xiaoban’s purported concerns about the virus by highlighting aspects of Meng’s lifestyle while on bail in Vancouver that had not been previously reported.
Also under cross-examination, Liu Xiaoban described a Christmas dinner where Meng and her 14-member party apparently ignored local epidemic regulations and made reservations for an entire restaurant, as well as shopping and partying at the home rented by Huawei employees, according to a report in the South China Morning Post. The report said Meng was living in a C$13.6 million home, one of two properties she owns in Vancouver, under the C$10 million ($7.8 million) bail conditions approved in December 2018. Under the terms of her bail, Meng must abide by an 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, but is otherwise allowed to roam most of the city as long as she stays away from the airport. Meng must wear a GPS tracker on her ankle and be accompanied at all times by a private security guard from Lionsgate Risk Management. Meng pays for the guards, who chauffeur her around town in large black SUVs, but they act as court officials to prevent her from escaping.
Liu Xiaoban testified in court that day that he and their two children live in Hong Kong, the report said. Immigration Canada granted them a waiver of travel restrictions for the new crown outbreak, allowing Liu himself to travel to Vancouver in October and the two children to travel in December. Liu Xiaoban told the court that he objected to the presence of guards when the family was out. He said that because the security officers traveled with her in the car, “I think my wife is at an increased risk of getting New Crown pneumonia.” In an affidavit read in court, he noted that his wife is a thyroid cancer survivor and suffers from High blood pressure.
Liu Xiaoban said the presence of security personnel bothered the pair’s 12-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son. They previously enjoyed going to coffee shops, malls and playgrounds together, but the presence of guards made it a “challenge. For his part, Carsley, representing the prosecution, suggested that even if it was a challenge, it did not stop the family from engaging in these activities with the guards, and in any case, the epidemic made such activities less likely. Liu Xiaoban agreed with both points.
Liu Xiaoban said he doesn’t like traveling with Meng and the Lionsgate guards because of the public attention they attract. He said, “Sometimes, Meng and I walk together on the street …… It’s easy to recognize (us).” Passersby try to take pictures of them. “That’s why the kids try to avoid being outside with Meng,” he added. Carsley questioned whether Liu was “genuinely worried” about Meng contracting the new crown outbreak “because he spent all 14 days of his quarantine with the children in the same house as her.” Liu emphasized that his fears were real.
In court, Liu testified that he and Meng only went out to eat four meals while Meng was on bail, three at the same Richmond restaurant and one at a Vancouver coffee shop that was also closed to other customers. Meng’s extradition hearing will resume on March 1. It is currently set for hearings on abuse of process and extradition from March 1 to 5, March 15 to April 1, and April 26 to May 14. The appeal may extend the process for several years.
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