Huawei CFO lawyers urge Canada to stop extradition process

Lawyers for a top Huawei executive called on Canada's justice minister Monday to intervene and stop a U.S. extradition request.

The group of four lawyers for Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou asked Justice Minister David Lametti for help and issued a statement saying that the case had become politicized.

Meng Wanzhou leaves her residence to attend British Columbia Supreme Court, Vancouver, Canada, May 8, 2019. [Photo: AFP]

"Palpably, it is brought for political purposes as opposed to legitimate criminal law enforcement reasons," they said.

They also said that Meng would not have been charged in Canada for the alleged crime and all the allegations relevant to the extradition request occurred in Hong Kong.

"None of the conduct occurred in the United States or Canada. No alleged victim resided in Canada. No aspect of any fact violated any Canadian law," they added.

Canada arrested Meng at the request of the U.S. on Dec. 1 at Vancouver's airport. The United States has charged her with lying to banks about Huawei's dealings with Iran in violation of U.S. trade sanctions.

Both Meng and Huawei have denied any wrongdoing.

U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier he would intervene with the U.S. Justice Department if it would help secure a deal with China.

(Story includes material sourced from AP)