Tag: extradition

Thousands of protesters in Hong Kong gathered outside the city's police headquarters demanding the government scrap a bill that would make anyone in Hong Kong subject to extradition to mainland China. CNN's Anna Coren reports live among the protests. #CNN…

Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Canada and faces possible extradition to the United States, is exploring a defense that claims U.S. charges against her are politically motivated, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Monday. Meng, the chief financial officer of China's Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., is the central figure in a high-stakes dispute between the United States and China. "The political overlay of this case is remarkable," Richard Peck, lead counsel for Meng, told the Toronto newspaper in a telephone interview. "That's probably the one thing that sets it apart from any other extradition case I've ever seen. It's got this cloud of politicization hanging over it," Peck added. The office of Canadian Justice Minister David Lametti and Peck did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Huawei spokesman declined comment. In December, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Reuters interview he would intervene in the Justice Department's case against Meng if it would serve national security interests or help close a trade deal with China. Canada fired John McCallum, its ambassador to China, in January after he said Meng could make a strong argument against being sent to the United States. "He [Mr. McCallum] mentions some of the potential defenses - and certainly, I think any person that knows this area would see the potential for those defenses arising," Peck told the newspaper.

Is extradition essentially a legal process, as the Government of Canada says, or a political one, as China asserts? These alleged lies began as early as 2009. But “conduct by the requesting state that amounts to an abuse of process is a basis for the extradition court to refuse extradition,” Edmonton lawyer Nathan Whitling says. “I think the Trump comments open the door for the motive of the Department of Justice [of the U.S.] to be explored,” Toronto lawyer Frank Addario says. The Supreme Court halted the extradition. “The only decision that must be made by the Minister of Justice personally is the ultimate decision on whether to surrender an individual in the event a judge has ordered committal for extradition,” Justice spokeswoman Célia Canon says. “This is a case that just cries out for transparency.” When the Justice Minister makes his ultimate decision on surrender, what guides the decision? Lawyers for Ms. Meng “can raise almost any issue,” Mr. Addario says, “including the fact that the alleged crime had negligible effects on the requesting state and appears to be the product of a trade dispute.” Can the minister’s ruling be reviewed by the courts? Not if the minister says no to the extradition. The Supreme Court of Canada says courts should generally defer in extradition cases because the executive, not the courts, has expertise in international relations: “The courts must be extremely circumspect so as to avoid interfering unduly in decisions that involve the good faith and honour of this country in its relations with other states.” Ultimately, in extradition cases, good faith and honour cannot be contracted out to the courts.

Frenchman convicted of industrial espionage by Swiss in 2015 Falciani arrested in Spain for second time on Swiss charges Former HSBC Holdings Plc computer specialist Herve Falciani is in trouble again in Spain, and this time may be at risk of getting caught up in a Catalan political drama. The Frenchman stole client data and then leaked the information to authorities, triggering tax-evasion probes across Europe. It’s the second time the Swiss tried to get him from Spain, where judges rejected his extradition in 2013 because his actions in Switzerland weren’t illegal in Spain. Politics in Spain have been upset by the Catalan separatist movement, and there’s been speculation that the Swiss could demand Falciani in return for pro-independence leaders who fled for Switzerland earlier this year. “It would be difficult to see why the Spanish would accede to the request if nothing has changed.” On Thursday, Falciani appeared at a hearing in Madrid, where a judge turned down a request by Spanish prosecutors to hold him while the extradition request is considered. Puigdemont, himself, was released on 75,000 euros ($92,000) bail in Germany after a court declined to consider a Spanish judge’s request to have Puigdemont extradited on rebellion charges. Falciani was convicted of industrial espionage, which is considered a political crime against the state, and acquitted of charges he violated commercial and banking secrecy rules, Henzelin said. Laurent Moreillon, HSBC’s lawyer, told reporters after the trial that Falciani’s “a thief and a liar,” and that his argument he was a whistle-blower was “pure invention and is a lesson to anyone who might try the same thing.” Penalty Nevertheless, HSBC’s Swiss unit agreed to a pay penalty of 40 million Swiss francs ($42 million) to end a probe into allegations of money laundering by the Geneva prosecutor’s office and avoid criminal charges. The day after Falciani’s arrest on Wednesday, the FOJ submitted a formal request for extradition. Spanish authorities informed the Swiss last month that the arrest warrant would be valid in Spain, the spokesman said.

Richard Engel, NBC News chief foreign correspondent, reports on similarities between Donald Trump and his friend, former Panama president Ricardo Martinelli, who is being held in a federal detention facility in Miami fighting extradition back to Panama. » Subscribe to…