Meng’s extradition hearing granted by Canadian judge postponed to August

A Canadian judge granted a postponement of Meng’s extradition hearing until August. Photo shows Huawei Vice Chairman and Treasurer Meng Wanzhou walking out of her residence in Vancouver, Canada, to appear in court to hear the ruling, May 27, 2020.

The English-language Chinese media reported on May 22 that a Canadian media outlet reported on May 21 that a judge in Canada’s British Columbia High Court had ruled against Huawei Vice Chairman and Treasurer Meng Wanzhou’s request to postpone her extradition hearing, granting a postponement of the hearing for 3 1/2 months to August this year.

The final phase of the extradition hearing was originally scheduled to begin next week, but Meng’s legal team requested on Monday that the hearing be postponed until August on the grounds that they needed more time to review the documents recently obtained by the Hong Kong court. Meanwhile, Canada is experiencing the third wave of the Chinese Communist virus epidemic, and the hearing should be postponed for security reasons.

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou received a ruling Wednesday that a judge granted her request to postpone her extradition hearing for 3 1/2 months, the report said. The hearing is the final stage of a legal dispute that has been going on for 28 months and was scheduled to begin next week.

Deputy Chief Justice Heather Holmes ruled Wednesday in B.C. Superior Court that in light of new evidence from HSBC, Meng’s request for a recess should be granted so the defence can review bank documents they believe may be relevant.

Holmes rescinded the three-week trial scheduled for April 26 to May 14. She ordered a rescheduled hearing around Aug. 3. The decision disrupted the timeline for the case. Holmes, Meng’s lawyers and Canadian government lawyers will meet on April 28 to set a new timetable for the case.

HSBC and Huawei reached a settlement in Hong Kong after the bank agreed to hand over relevant documents to her. Meng’s lawyers had said Monday that HSBC had already provided some information and that more was expected to be delivered in the next six weeks.