By Moira Warburton
July 27 (Reuters) - Lawyers representing Huawei Technologies
Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou argued in federal court on
Monday that redacted documents prepared by the Canadian spy
agency relating to her December 2018 arrest should be released.
The lawyers said national security should not limit the
release of the documents, parts of which were made public during
ongoing court proceedings over Meng's requested extradition to
the United States, court documents showed.
Meng's lawyers have asked for additional documents from the
Canadian government pertaining to her arrest, hoping to support
their claim that Canadian authorities committed abuses of
process during her arrest. The lawyers are pressing for a stay
in Meng's extradition.
In a redacted document from Dec. 1, 2018, the Canadian
Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said it was advised by the
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of plans to arrest
Meng when she arrived on a flight at Vancouver International
Airport later that same day.
Meng is accused by U.S. authorities of bank fraud for
misleading HSBC about Huawei's relationship with a
company operating in Iran, putting HSBC at risk of fines and
penalties for breaking U.S. sanctions on Tehran.
The documents in question relate to communications between
the FBI and CSIS and show the involvement of the Canadian spy
agency in the arrest of Meng, which soured diplomatic ties
between Ottawa and Beijing.
Lawyers for the Canadian attorney general have released some
of the requested documents, but claimed privilege over others,
saying that a full unredacted release of the documents would
compromise national security.
"National security privilege should not be used to cover up
abuse," Meng's lawyers wrote in a submission outlining their
arguments. "Additionally, national security privilege should not
be used to protect government enforcement officials from being
embarrassed."
(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Toronto; Editing by Tom Brown)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)