Oct 2 (Reuters) - Canada's border security agency admitted
making an "error" while sharing passcodes of phones belonging
to Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou with Canadian
federal police, according to document filed as part of a hearing
in a British Columbia court.
Meng, 47, was arrested at a Vancouver airport on Dec. 1 at
the request of the United States, where she is charged with bank
fraud and accused of misleading the bank HSBC about
Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's business in Iran. She has
said she is innocent and is fighting extradition.
An email submitted to the British Columbia Supreme Court on
Tuesday says "the passcodes were provided in error and could not
be disclosed as evidence nor used to access any of Ms Meng's
devices."
Meng's lawyers are demanding emails, notes and other records
to support their case that Meng's rights were violated before
her arrest. They wrapped up their arguments last week, saying
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had originally planned to
board Meng's flight once it landed in Vancouver and arrest her.
They noted that the warrant called for immediate arrest.
However, that plan changed after a meeting between border and
police officials, although the reasons for the change were not
clear and, they said, resulted in Meng's constitutional rights
being violated.
If Canadian officials abused their authority, her lawyers
say, the extradition proceedings should be halted.
The email from a representative of the Canada Border
Services Agency further says that the RCMP confirmed they did
not access the devices, and do not intend to access the devices
at any time as it was "not their investigation."
Lawyers for Canada's attorney general are set continue their
oral arguments on behalf of the United States in the British
Columbia courtroom Wednesday.
In their filing last week, they said the Crown already
provided extensive documents to Meng, and that contacts between
U.S. and Canadian authorities under such circumstances are
encouraged.
Oral arguments by counsel for the Canadian attorney general
are scheduled to run through Friday this week but could end
earlier.
The extradition proceeding itself is scheduled to begin in
January and experts say legal wrangling could go on for years.
(Writing by Denny Thomas
Editing by Giles Elgood)