For years she thought her son had died of an overdose. The police video changed all that
Austin Hunter Turner died in 2017, on a night that his mother has rewound and replayed again and again, trying to make sense of what happened.
The United States closed the book Friday on the legal saga of Meng Wanzhou, the Chinese tech executive whose arrest in Canada in 2018 triggered a global standoff with foreign-policy implications that reverberate to this day.
A federal judge in New York formally dismissed the last remaining indictment against Huawei's chief financial officer after prosecutors agreed Meng had abided by the terms of her deferred prosecution agreement.
"It is hereby ordered that the third superseding indictment in the above-captioned matter as to the defendant Wanzhou Meng is hereby dismissed with prejudice," District Judge Ann Donnelly said in a written decision.
The order came four years after Meng was first detained in Vancouver in December 2018 as part of a controversial U.S. extradition request that dragged Canada into the middle of an intractable legal dispute with China.
It's the final stage of the agreement, or DPA, that saw Meng released from custody in September 2021, nearly three years after she was arrested at the behest of the U.S. to face fraud charges related to American sanctions against Iran.
Prosecutors accused Meng and Huawei of stealing secrets and using Skycom, a Hong Kong communications firm, to sell tech equipment to Iran in defiance of sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Her detention quickly spiralled into a tense, protracted three-way dispute after two Canadian nationals, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, were arrested in China in an apparent act of retaliation.
Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, pleaded not guilty to all charges as part of the agreement. In exchange, she agreed to a statement of facts acknowledging, among other things, that Skycom -- which she had claimed was a partner with Huawei -- was essentially a wholly owned subsidiary.
The agreement made it clear she would be in violation of the deal if she tried to contradict or deny the statement, which would then be admissible in any future court proceedings.
U.S. attorney Carolyn Pokorny filed the request to dismiss the indictment Thursday, four years to the day after Meng's detention in Vancouver.
"In the absence of information that (Meng) has violated any terms of the DPA through Dec. 1, 2022 … the government respectfully moves to dismiss the third superseding indictment in this case," Pokorny wrote.
Spavor and Kovrig, who came to be known around the world as "the two Michaels," were freed by Chinese authorities at almost the precise moment that Meng was being flown home.
China has long denied any link between the two cases, despite the timing of both the initial arrests and their eventual release.
Their detention complicated Canada's efforts to enunciate a position on China in general and Huawei in particular as a potential national security threat.
In May, the federal Liberal government announced it was banning the company and another Chinese vendor, ZTE, from participating in the development of Canada's next-generation mobile networks.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly finally unveiled Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy on Sunday, in the very city where Meng was first detained. The Liberals had first promised it back in 2015.
It described China as "an increasingly disruptive global power" and included plans for an international summit on "arbitrary detention," as well as efforts to draft new efforts to push back on human rights violations and "economic coercion."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2022.
Austin Hunter Turner died in 2017, on a night that his mother has rewound and replayed again and again, trying to make sense of what happened.
Niagara Region says it has declared a state of emergency 'out of an abundance of caution' as it prepares for an influx of visitors for next month’s total solar eclipse.
Neuroscientist Emma Duerden says social media can alter children's brains and have negative impacts on their mental health.
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
An Edmonton broadcasting pioneer has passed away.
A breakthrough discovery made by doctors at the Montreal Children's Hospital about the causes of cerebral palsy is giving new hope to one West Island family.
Not getting enough sleep may cause you to feel five to 10 years older than you really are, according to two new studies.
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
A sixth suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of a 28-year-old man and his pregnant wife in Bowmanville, Ont., police confirmed Friday.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.