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Key events in Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou's extradition case

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TORONTO/LONDON (Reuters) – Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, will appear in a Vancouver, Canada, courtroom on Monday for the first day of her extradition trial, a process expected to take months – possibly years – to decide whether she can be extradited from Canada to the United States.

FILE PHOTO: Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou leaves her home to attend a case management conference in advance of her extradition hearing at B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada January 17, 2020. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

Here is a timeline of the case and its geopolitical implications.

Dec. 30, 2012 – Reuters publishes an exclusive story here citing documents that showed a major partner of Huawei had offered to sell at least 1.3 million euros worth of embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran’s largest mobile-phone operator in late 2010.

Jan. 31, 2013 – Reuters publishes another exclusive story here revealing that Meng had served on the board of the company that had attempted to sell the embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to the Iranian mobile-phone operator. These two stories played a central role in the Meng case and were later cited in her indictment.

Aug. 22, 2018: A New York court issues an arrest warrant for Meng, so that she could be detained to stand trial in the United States.

Nov. 29, 2018: The United States learns that Meng will be passing through Vancouver International Airport on her way to Mexico.

Dec. 1, 2018: Meng is arrested by Canadian police in Vancouver as she changes planes. The arrest is not made public until Dec. 5. The Chinese embassy in Canada demands her release.

DEC. 7, 2018: Court proceedings show that the United States issued the arrest warrant because it believes Meng covered up attempts by Huawei-linked companies to sell equipment to Iran, breaking U.S. sanctions against the country.

Dec. 10, 2018: Two Canadians are detained in China – a former Canadian diplomat, Michael Kovrig, and businessman Michael Spavor. China denies their arrests are related to Meng’s case.

Dec. 11, 2018: Meng is released on bail by a British Columbian court. U.S. President Donald Trump says he will intervene in the case if it would serve national interests.

Jan. 8, 2019: Documents found by Reuters confirm Huawei’s links to companies suspected of operating in Iran and Syria, breaking sanctions.

Jan. 22, 2019: The U.S. Justice Department announces it will formally seek the extradition of Meng to the United States.

Jan. 23, 2019: John McCallum, Canada’s ambassador to China, tells Chinese-language media that Huawei can make a good case against extradition, thanks in part to Trump’s comments about his willingness to get involved.

Jan. 26, 2019: Trudeau fires McCallum after his comments to the press, marking the first time a Canadian ambassador had ever been fired.

Feb. 4, 2019: Canadian canola shipments are delayed in clearing Chinese customs.

March 1, 2019: Canada approves the extradition order of Meng to the United States.

April 29, 2019: Canadian farm exports across the board hit obstacles at Chinese ports.

July 15, 2019: Canada postpones deciding whether to allow Huawei to build a 5G cellphone network in Canada, due to the ongoing dispute.

Sept. 23, 2019: Canada’s attorney general said there was no evidence that Canadian border officials or police acted improperly when Meng was detained and arrested at Vancouver’s airport.

Sept. 24, 2019: Meng returned to a Vancouver court as her lawyers argued that Canadian authorities abused their powers and violated her rights to gather evidence against her, a claim the government denies.

Oct. 2, 2019: Any errors in the arrest of Meng in Canada last December were technical in nature and do not meet the requirements to suspend her extradition proceedings to the United States, government lawyers said in court on Wednesday.

Dec. 10, 2019: Lawyers for Huawei’s chief financial officer have won a court battle after a judge asked Canada’s attorney general to hand over more evidence and documents relating to the arrest of Meng.

Dec. 20, 2019: China’s case against the two detained Canadians is turned over to prosecutors.

FILE PHOTO: Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou arrives at B.C. Supreme Court to attend a case management conference in advance of her extradition hearing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada January 17, 2020. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

Jan. 10, 2020: Meng’s conduct amounts to fraud under Canadian law and the court need not consider U.S. sanctions law, Canadian federal prosecutors argued in a court filing released on Friday.

Jan. 13, 2020: A Canadian court denies a request to broadcast a portion of the trial.

Jan. 17, 2020: Extraditing Meng to the United States based on American sanctions against Iran would set a dangerous precedent and could even undermine Canada’s policy toward Iran, Meng’s lawyers argued in court documents released on Friday.

Reporting by Moira Warburton and Steve Stecklow; Editing by Denny Thomas and Lisa Shumaker

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