The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. – Meng Wanzhou has sued the Canadian authorities for violating her constitutional rights by detaining her on the request of United States (U.S.).
Meng Wanzhou, daughter of Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, was arrested in Vancouver by Canadian Authorities on December 1, 2018. She has been accused of bank fraud with regards to sanctions against Iran. Meng was later released on bail with restrictions on freedom of movement. She is presently undergoing court trial with regards to extradition request placed by U.S.
The lawsuit has been filed in the British Columbia’s Supreme Court in Canada. Meng has accused Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Federal Government of unlawfully detaining her and interrogating her for 3 hours without even advising her of Constitutional Rights. Besides, her electronic gadgets, including an iPad and luggage were illegally searched without even informing her that she was under arrest.
The lawsuit states that due to detention Meng suffered mental distress, anxiety and loss of liberty. She already has hypertension and owing to the illegal detention, she was even hospitalised.
Speaking on the lawsuit, Howard Mickleson – one of Meng’s lawyers said, “We are alleging serious breaches of her constitutional rights and seeking damages for misfeasance in public office and false imprisonment.”
The lawyers for Meng Wanzhou have also made the lawsuits document available to the media.
China believes that the arrest of Meng Wanzhou is a political move by the President of United States (U.S.) – Donald Trump to have an upper hand in the ongoing negotiations between China and U.S., over trade and technology. For the records, Trump has recently announced that he has extended the March 1, 2019 deadline of increasing the tariff from 10% to 25% on Chinese goods worth U.S. $ 200 billion.
The Foreign Ministry of China has said in a statement, “China strongly opposes Canada’s insistence to proceed with the so-called extradition of Ms Meng Wanzhou, and it has made a solemn representation. It is a serious political incident. We again urge the US to rescind its request for the extradition of Ms Meng and call for Canada to release her immediately.”
Huawei is the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker and one of the biggest smartphone brands. They are all geared up for the roll-out of next generation wireless technology, i.e., 5G. But the U.S. is pressurizing its allies to limit the roll-out as it believes that the technology is a threat to the national security.
The U.S. opines that with the help of Huawei’s technology, China could spy on other nations, although it hasn’t provided any specific evidence to support the accusations.
Huawei, on the other hand, has said that none of their product pose a threat to national security. Besides, it has also said that even if Chinese Government asks to use their technology for espionage, they will deny it.
The next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
