（中央社溫哥華／多倫多7日綜合外電報導）在加拿大被捕的中國通訊設備大廠華為公司財務長孟晚舟，今天出席在溫哥華法庭召開的保釋聆訊。她可能會被引渡到美國。
孟晚舟抵達法院時，法院外擠滿媒體記者。她透過翻譯，和兩名委任律師交談。
加拿大司法部拒絕提供有關本案的進一步資訊。
在美國要求下，加拿大1日逮捕現年46歲的孟晚舟，但直到5日才公布消息。
孟晚舟是華為創辦人任正非的女兒，據路透社報導，她的被捕和華府調查華為疑似暗中利用全球銀行系統規避美國對伊朗制裁行動有關。
Meng Wanzhou — the chief financial officer for the Chinese tech giant Huawei — is wanted in the U.S. on allegations of fraud, a bail hearing has been told.
Crown counsel said Friday that Meng, 46, is accused of using an unofficial subsidiary called Skycom to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran from 2009 to 2014.
It’s also alleged she made public misrepresentations about Skycom, saying it was separate from Huawei, when the U.S. contends they were the same company doing business with Iran.
The Crown said she’s “charged with conspiracy to defraud multiple international institutions,” with each charge carrying a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
American officials are seeking her extradition so she can be prosecuted in the U.S.
The allegations were detailed at Meng’s bail hearing in B.C. Supreme Court on Friday morning. She appeared in the packed courtroom without handcuffs, wearing a dark green sweater, smiling and shaking hands with her lawyer before the judge arrived.
During the hearing, Crown counsel said the Attorney General of Canada does not want Meng released from custody, citing an incentive to flee and vast financial resources.
The Crown also claimed Meng does not have meaningful ties to Canada, noting she owns two homes in Vancouver but only vacations in the city for a few weeks in the summer.
Meng was arrested in Vancouver on Saturday, en route from Hong Kong to Mexico.
Previously, a publication ban prevented the U.S. Department of Justice from releasing further details about the arrest and subsequent hearing. Several media outlets, including CBC News, challenged the ban. It was lifted as the first matter of business at Friday’s hearing.
Huawei is one of the world’s biggest suppliers of network gear for phone an internet companies. The telecom company also makes smartphones, standing as the second-leading seller for two quarters straight — behind Samsung and ahead of Apple, according to the International Data Corporation.
Huawei is also is under scrutiny from the U.S. and other governments over suspected ties to the Chinese government and possible links to spying.
Meng is also deputy chair of the board at Huawei. Her father, Ren Zhengfei, is the company’s founder and CEO.
The company says Beijing has no influence over its operations.
News of Meng’s arrest pummelled stock markets, in anticipation that the move would derail planned trade talks between China and the U.S. — the world’s two largest economies.
Canada given notice before arrest
Chinese officials have expressed concern about the arrest, with the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa calling it a serious violation of human rights. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang also said Canada should have explained why Meng was arrested.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa had a few days’ notice prior to the arrest, but said he hadn’t had any conversations with China’s premier or ambassador about the case.
He declined to give further details, citing Friday’s bail hearing.
The arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou may inflame diplomatic and trade tensions with China, but Canada’s extradition treaty with the United States left it with no choice but to detain her, says a legal expert.
“If the application from the requesting state is in order, then Canada is legally obliged to arrest her,” said Rob Currie, a Dalhousie law professor who focuses extensively on extradition law.
“Most extraditions are not terribly contentious. It so happens that this one is and has massive international political dimensions to it.”
Meng, the chief financial officer for the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, was arrested December 1 in Vancouver for extradition to the United States to face fraud charges. U.S. authorities allege she used a Huawei subsidiary to do business in Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions and lied to bankers about the corporation’s ties with the subsidiary.
Under the terms of the extradition treaty, the U.S. could request Meng’s arrest in Canada if she was wanted in connection with conduct considered criminal in both Canada and the United States, and if the offence carries a jail sentence of a year or more. Once that threshold is met, the treaty compels Canada to act.
“The appropriate authorities took the decisions in this case without any political involvement or interference … we were advised by them with a few days’ notice that this was in the works,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Montreal Thursday.
Trudeau would have known about the arrest in advance because the request would have been made through diplomatic channels and — under the extradition act — Justice Minister Jody Wilson Raybould would have authorized it. But the prime minister has no formal role in the extradition process.
What happens next?
Meng appeared at a bail hearing in Vancouver today. That hearing was separate from the actual extradition process, which could take months.
The U.S. has to make a formal extradition request within 60 days of Meng’s arrest and send the supporting documents to the International Assistance Group, the specialized branch within the Department of Justice that handles extradition.
Within 30 days of receiving those documents, the IAG would advise Raybould on whether a formal extradition hearing would be justified.
Under the treaty with the U.S., Canada cannot arbitrarily refuse to issue an authority to proceed. But once the formal extradition is made, Raybould can exercise ministerial discretion.
Canada’s extradition laws give Ottawa the power to reject requests that it considers oppressive or politically motivated, a back door known as the ‘political offence exception’. For example, extradition requests that seek to prosecute people for their race, religion, sexuality or political opinions would be out of order.
Canada typically refuses to extradite people to jurisdictions where they would face the death penalty unless it receives assurances that the person being extradited would not be killed.
If Meng’s case goes to an extradition hearing it would be before a Superior Court judge, with lawyers from Canada’s International Assistance Group acting on behalf of the United States.
An extradition hearing is not a trial. Meng would not be allowed to call witnesses or present evidence in her defence. Judges in extradition hearings don’t decide on innocence or guilt; they simply determine if the evidence provided by a foreign government is sufficient to justify going to trial and, consequently, the extradition itself.
If the judge in Meng’s extradition hearing decides the U.S. request isn’t justified, she’ll be discharged and released from custody.
If extradition is ordered, Meng’s case goes to Raybould’s office for review. The minister ultimately would decide whether the extradition could go forward after hearing submissions from Meng’s lawyers. Any trial in Meng’s case would take place in the U.S., under American law.
Currie said the political offence exception could be raised at the point where Meng’s file crosses Raybould’s desk.
“The idea of refusing an American extradition request on political grounds is really, really unheard of and controversial,” he said. “And yet I would say it is definitely something that would be argued by Ms. Meng’s lawyers in this case.”
Meng also has the right to appeal the extradition judge’s decision and apply for a judicial review of the minister’s decision all the way up to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Speaking to journalists Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said she has sent a message of reassurance to Beijing through John McCallum, Canada’s ambassador to China.
“And he has assured China that due process is absolutely being (followed) in Canada and consular access for China to Ms. Meng will be provided,” she said, “and that we are a rule-of-law country and we will be following our laws as we have thus far in this matter, and as we will continue to do.”
Critics say Canada too quick to extradite
Critics of Canada’s extradition law say it sets the bar too low and can lead to significant miscarriages of justice. They point to the Hassan Diab case — which saw an Ottawa academic spend more than three years in a French prison on suspicion of involvement in a terrorist attack. Because the case against him was so weak, he was never formally charged.
Diab ultimately was sent back to Canada and has been campaigning for a public inquiry into how his case was handled. French prosecutors are appealing Diab’s release.
The data suggest Meng is likely to be turned over to the U.S. if Raybould gives the authority to proceed with an extradition hearing.
Department of Justice figures show that 90 per cent of the individuals arrested for extradition in the last decade were eventually surrendered by Canada to the countries asking for extradition.