Lawyers for Meng Wanzhou have made a submission to Canada’s minister of justice that calls on him to withdraw extradition proceedings against the Huawei CFO and lays out the legal basis for him to do so in the name of “human decency” and other “Canadian values”.

The submission was announced in a press statement issued on Monday morning in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The statement said minister David Lametti should “exercise his discretion to withdraw the proceedings because the extradition proceedings are without merit and cessation of the proceedings would be [in] Canada's national interests”.

The US is requesting Meng’s extradition to face bank fraud charges related to an alleged breach of US sanctions against Iran.

She was arrested at the US’ request on a December 1 stopover at Vancouver’s airport, where she had been due to change planes on a trip from Hong Kong to Mexico.

“From time to time, Canadian governments have had to make difficult decisions, sometimes at odds with the foreign policy initiatives of its allies, including the United States, in order to assert essential Canadian values of human decency, fairness, tolerance and respect for human rights and the rule of law,” said the statement.

“In our view, Canada is at [a] crossroads respecting the United States' request that Canada extradite Ms Meng, for conduct that could not be an offence in Canada and which is at odds with Canadian values and established foreign policy regarding Iran.”

The release did not include the actual submission, but it describes its arguments. These were both legal and political, reflecting the dual nature of the hotly contested case that has sparked an unprecedented diplomatic rift between Canada and China.

Canada’s ministry of justice said it “cannot confirm receipt of the letter”.

“Canada is a country that respects the rule of law. The extradition process in Canada is conducted within the guiding principles of the Extradition Act, our extradition treaty and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” a spokesman said.

“As this matter is currently before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

China arrested two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, in a move widely seen as retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Meng. China accuses Spavor and Kovrig of espionage.

The statement, signed by lawyers Richard Peck, David Martin, Scott Fenton and Eric Gottardi, said the submission was made in light of “recent comments by former prime minister of Canada Jean Chretien and of the current minister of foreign affairs, Chrystia Freeland”.

Chretien, prime minister from 1993 to 2004 and himself a lawyer, has been calling for Canada to withdraw the extradition case against Meng.

Freeland rejected that idea as setting a “dangerous precedent”, in comments she made at a televised press conference on June 13.

The statement by Meng’s lawyers said there was an absence of double criminality – the requirement that extradited suspects face charges for offences that would constitute crimes in Canada.