Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou sues Canadian government

Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, is suing the Canadian government, its border agency and the national police force over her detention. Meng claims they detained, searched and interrogated her before telling her she was under arrest.

On Sunday, Meng’s Lawyers said they had filed a notice of civil claim in the British Columbia supreme court. Canada arrested Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, at the request of the US on 1 December at Vancouver airport.

Huawei reportedly preparing to sue the United States government

The US prosecutors will accuse her of misleading banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran.

Meng’s lawsuit alleges that instead of immediately arresting her, authorities interrogated her “under the guise of a routine customs” examination and used the opportunity to “compel her to provide evidence and information”.

The suit also claims Canada Border Service Agency agents seized her electronic devices, obtained passwords and unlawfully viewed the contents and intentionally failed to advise her of the true reasons for her detention.

The suit said only after three hours was she told she was under arrest and had a right to counsel.

“This case concerns a deliberate and pre-meditated effort on the part of the defendant officers to obtain evidence and information from the plaintiff in a manner which they knew constituted serious violations of the plaintiff’s rights,” the claim says.

Meng has been released on bail and is living in Vancouver awaiting extradition proceedings.

On Friday, Canadian justice department officials gave the go-ahead for her extradition proceedings to begin. Meng was due in court on Wednesday to set a date for the proceedings to start. It could be several months or even years before her case is resolved.