On June 7, 2023, the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights (JUST) released a report entitled, “Reforming Canada’s Extradition System”:

https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/JUST/report-13

The JUST report is based on hearings conducted in February 2023, when the Committee heard from a number of witnesses including Donald Bayne (legal counsel for Dr. Hassan Diab), Rania Tfaily (Hassan’s spouse and Associate Professor at Carleton University), Tim McSorley (National Coordinator, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group), Alex Neve (former Secretary General for Amnesty Canada), Robert J. Currie (Professor of Law at Dalhousie University), Matthew Behrens (social justice advocate), and others, about the injustices of Canada’s Extradition Act.

Hassan Diab’s case was highlighted in the JUST report as a shocking example of the shortcomings of Canada’s Extradition Act. The report includes 20 recommendations for reforming Canada’s Extradition Act. It is our sincere hope that the Canadian Government will take up the proposed reforms as soon as possible.

Read: “MPs call for reform of Canada’s extradition system to avoid ‘further injustices’”, Ottawa Citizen, June 19, 2023

Open Letter Signed by Members of the Canadian Legal Community

On June 8, an Open Letter, signed by more than 130 members of the Canadian legal community – including law professors, retired judges, practicing and retired lawyers, and legal researchers from across the country – was delivered to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

https://iclmg.ca/diab-lawyers-letter-2023 (English)
https://iclmg.ca/fr/lettre-communaute-juridique-diab-2023 (French)

The letter urges the Canadian government to refuse any request for Hassan Diab’s extradition and summarizes the numerous, mounting grave concerns about fairness and human rights violations that have marked every stage of Hassan Diab’s case. The letter also reminds the Prime Minister of his comments in 2018, after Hassan returned to Canada, when he stated that what had happened to Hassan “never should have happened” and that steps would be taken to “make sure that it never happens again.”

Read: Press release about the Open Letter signed by members of the Canadian legal community

Open Letter: Say “No” to a Second Extradition for Hassan Diab

On June 15, another letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, sponsored by Michelle Weinroth and endorsed by Just Peace Advocates, was delivered to the PM:

“Prime Minister Trudeau: Say ‘No’ to a second extradition for Hassan Diab!”
https://rabble.ca/politics/canadian-politics/prime-minister-trudeau-say-no-to-a-second-extradition-for-hassan-diab

The letter has now garnered signatures from over 526 individuals – activists, academics, lawyers, faith leaders, authors, and others – and 27+ organizations.

An updated letter will be sent to both the PM and Justice Minister David Lametti, so that they are both aware that the number of signatories has risen dramatically and continues to rise with each passing day. If you would like to add your name to the letter, you can access a Google form to fill out at the link below. The form asks for your name, self-description/title, location, and email.

https://bit.ly/HassanDiabLetter

Sign the Petition to PM Trudeau

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must honor his words from June 2018 and refuse any future request from France for the extradition of Hassan Diab. Your support is vital to protect the rights of people in Canada against unjust prosecution and violation of fundamental rights.

The petition has close to 10,000 signatures. We plan to deliver the petition to the Prime Minister soon. Please sign it, if you haven’t done so already, and share it far and wide!

Petition in English: https://you.leadnow.ca/petitions/pm-trudeau-protect-hassan-diab-from-further-injustice-say-no-to-another-extradition

Pétition en Français: https://you.leadnow.ca/petitions/pm-trudeau-protegez-hassan-diab-de-toute-nouvelle-injustice-dites-non-a-une-deuxieme-extradition

Thank you for your continued support!

Hassan Diab Support Committee
Email: diabsupport@gmail.com

At this critical juncture, it is more important than ever to take action and call upon the Canadian government to protect Dr. Hassan Diab from another wrongful extradition.

On April 21, 2023, in a shameful and baseless decision, the Paris Court of Assize declared Hassan Diab guilty of a bombing near a Paris Synagogue in 1980, and sentenced him to life in prison.

No new evidence was presented at the Court of Assize. Hassan was wrongfully convicted based on unsourced intelligence and old, discredited material.

We are deeply concerned that France will make a second extradition request.

Here are two simple actions you can take to show the Canadian government that people are watching and care about justice.

Action #1: Send a Letter to PM Justin Trudeau

Please send the letter addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the ICLMG (International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group website), demanding that the government immediately commit to refusing any second extradition request from France:

https://iclmg.ca/diab-letter

If you wish, you can edit and personalise the letter before pressing the “Send your message” button.

Action #2: Phone PM Justin Trudeau

Please take a few minutes to phone PM Trudeau and urge him to protect Hassan Diab. Here is the KEY MESSAGE we want to communicate to the Prime Minister:

“I am horrified that the baseless and shameful trial of Hassan Diab in Paris found Dr. Diab guilty. No new evidence was presented at the trial. The Court ignored all exonerating evidence, and relied on discredited and unfounded allegations. Canada must protect Hassan Diab and say NO to any request from France for his extradition.”

PM Trudeau’s contact information:

      Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
      Hill Office – House of Commons:
      Phone: 1 (613) 992-4211

      Constituency Office (Montreal, Quebec):
      Phone: 1 (514) 277-6020

When you call, you will probably be transferred to leave your message on an answering machine. Please, leave a polite message, and say your name, town/province, and phone number.

Here are some additional things you may wish to say:

• I am very concerned that France is scapegoating Hassan Diab for a crime he did not commit.
• Hassan is innocent. In 2018, Hassan was released after two French investigative judges determined that there was no evidence linking him to the attack.
• The government has a moral obligation to protect Hassan.
• Hassan and his family have suffered long enough.
• Amnesty International has called on the French authorities to drop the case against Hassan.
• Honour the words you said in 2018: “What happened to Hassan Diab never should have happened”, and make sure that it never happens again.

Thank you for your continued support!

You are invited to an event in Ottawa, Ontario, in support of Dr. Hassan Diab:

• Event: WE’RE WITH YOU, HASSAN!
• Date: Monday May 15, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm ET
• Place: First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa (Fellowship Hall), 30 Cleary Ave, Ottawa (off Richmond Road, one traffic light East of Woodroffe Ave, Bus #11)

Speakers:

• Hassan Diab – His experience of the unfair trial
• Don Pratt – Personal witness to the trial
• Michelle Weinroth – Media coverage – the good, the bad and the ugly
• Don Bayne – What to expect and prepare for now
• Fiona Doyle – Student perspective – why we continue to fight
• Deborah Conners – What we can do to help

Details:

• Opportunities to express your support for Hassan
• Live music
• Cookies and juice
• Donations toward the Hassan’s legal defence fund are welcome.

It really means a great deal to Hassan to meet with you in person! But if you can’t, please join via Zoom:
      Time: May 15, 2023 19:00 Eastern Time (US and Canada)
      Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86922121945

Sponsored by:

• Carleton University students
• Hassan Diab Support Committee
• Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University

On April 21, 2023, the French Court of Assize declared Hassan guilty of the 1980 bombing in Paris despite documentary proof that he was not in France at that time, but in Lebanon taking sociology exams! The sham trial was politically motivated and unfairly conducted.

With this devastating result, it is urgent to gather Hassan’s supporters in a show of our commitment to do everything we can to protect Hassan from the expected French call for him to be extradited again, this time to face life imprisonment.

Song by the Ottawa Raging Grannies (2 minute video): Keep Hassan Diab Home

Please distribute widely!

Watch interviews with William Bourdon (Hassan’s French lawyer) and Don Bayne (Hassan’s Canadian lawyer) on CBC Power and Politics:

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2196792899670
(Interviews start at 27 minutes, 11 seconds)

William Bourdon, Hassan’s French lawyer, said his task of defending Hassan was an “impossible mission”. The court deliberately ignored and dismissed all “extremely convincing” evidence of Hassan’s innocence — that he was in Beirut at the time of the attack, that he did not belong to PFLP, and that he had very strong alibi. The presumption of innocence has been replaced by the presumption of guilt. After 43 years, the court is clinging on to Hassan Diab because of the pressure of the civil parties and the judges’ fear to be accused of laxity in finding those responsible for the 1980 attack.

Don Bayne, Hassan’s Canadian lawyer, called it a “political trial” and a “political conviction”, and remarked that “the victims deserve a trial; what they don’t deserve is a scapegoat or a miscarriage of justice.” Mr. Bayne also noted that Hassan was not convicted based on evidence. The type of material that was put forward by the prosecution (opinion of lay people, of journalists, of so-called intelligence people) is not evidence; it is opinion. This would never be allowed in a Canadian courtroom.

Moreover, the court that convicted Hassan was not a court of record. There is no transcript, no audio, and no video. So, there is no accurate record of exactly what happened inside that court. In Canada, courts are of record. What we have here is a wrongful conviction of a man in absentia from a court that was not a court of record.

The two French investigative judges (Jean-Marc Herbaut and Richard Foltzer), who spent three years investigating this case and know it inside out, went to the court and urged the court not to convict, saying there is no valid basis for a conviction, that they’ve checked every aspect of this case and Hassan is innocent. Despite this, there is a wrongful conviction.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Justice Minister David Lametti must protect Hassan and say No to any request for Hassan’s extradition.

Prime Minister Trudeau must honour his words from June 18, 2018, when a few months after Hassan’s release and return to Canada he said that “what happened to Hassan Diab never should have happened” and promised to “make sure that this never happens again.”

Thank you for your continued support!

On April 21, 2023, the nightmare that Dr. Hassan Diab and his family have endured for over 15 years was prolonged further by the guilty verdict produced by an unfair trial at the Court of Assize in Paris. The Court ignored all exonerating evidence (including Hassan’s alibis and the fact that his fingerprints and palm prints do not match those of the suspect), and relied on discredited and unfounded allegations.

Hassan’s lawyer in France remarked that after 43 years “the Court is clinging on to Hassan Diab because of the judges’ fear to be accused of laxity in finding those responsible for the 1980 attack.”

Donald Bayne, Hassan Diab’s Canadian lawyer, called it a “political trial” and remarked that “the victims deserve a trial. What they don’t deserve is a scapegoat or a miscarriage of justice.”

Read our latest media advisory:

https://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/DIAB-media-statement-2023-04-21.pdf

– – – – – – – – – –

Urgent Action: Phone Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Urging Him to Protect Hassan Diab

Please take a few minutes to telephone Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and urge him to protect Dr. Hassan Diab and refuse any request from France for his extradition.

Here is the KEY MESSAGE we want to communicate to the Prime Minister:

“I am horrified that the baseless and shameful trial of Hassan Diab in Paris found Dr. Diab guilty. No new evidence was presented at the trial. The Court ignored all exonerating evidence, and relied on discredited and unfounded allegations. Canada must protect Hassan Diab and say NO to any request from France for his extradition.”

Here is PM Trudeau’s contact information:

      Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
      Hill Office – House of Commons:
      Phone: 1 (613) 992-4211

      Constituency Office (Montreal, Quebec):
      Phone: 1 (514) 277-6020

When you call, you will probably be transferred to leave your message on an answering machine. Please, leave a polite message, and say your name, town/province, and phone number.

Here are some additional things you may wish to say:

• I am very concerned that France is scapegoating Hassan Diab for a crime he did not commit.
• The evidence proves that Hassan is innocent.
• The government has a moral obligation to protect Hassan.
• Hassan and his family have suffered long enough.
• Amnesty International has called on the French authorities to drop the case against Hassan.
• In 2018, Hassan was released after two French investigative judges determined that there was no evidence linking him to the attack.
• Honour the words you said in 2018: “What happened to Hassan Diab never should have happened”, and make sure that it never happens again.

– – – – – – – – – –

Hassan Diab Reacts after Paris Court of Assize Finds Him Guilty

Watch CBC Power and Politics interview with Dr. Hassan Diab:

http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2196715075561 (12-minute video)

– – – – – – – – – –

Op-Ed: Canada Must Put a Stop to Injustice in the Hassan Diab Case Once and For All

By Alex Neve and Robert J. Currie, Globe and Mail, April 21, 2023:

“At every step of a Kafkaesque 15-year journey through the Canadian and French legal systems, Hassan Diab and his family have needed to believe that justice would ultimately prevail. Sadly, that hope has been shattered.

Friday’s [April 21, 2023] decision from the French Special Assize Court, which found Mr. Diab guilty in absentia of a horrific synagogue bombing in Paris despite overwhelming evidence that he was not in France at the time, is the latest surreal instalment. It is an indictment of the French justice system that the crime has remained unresolved ever since the devastating terrorist attack at the Rue Copernic synagogue killed four people and injured 46 others on Oct. 3, 1980. But justice is not served by scapegoating…

Evidence and rules of criminal procedure that would never be allowed in a Canadian courtroom have carried the day. There is little doubt that the resulting conviction is profoundly, scandalously unsound. And now, Canada awaits an anticipated second extradition request from France, which could be sent to court and result in yet another protracted extradition process – a torment that would be unbearable for Mr. Diab and his family.

But federal Justice Minister David Lametti can rescue Mr. Diab from this maze of injustice once and for all. He must make it clear to the French government that Canada will no longer be complicit in this travesty, and that under no circumstances will any further extradition request be granted.

In Canadian law, the decision to proceed with the extradition or not is entirely at the minister’s discretion. Discretion should, surely, always serve justice. And so justice means Canada must say no to France.”

Read the full Op-Ed:

https://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/globe-and-mail-2023-04-23.pdf

Hassan Diab Support Committee
Web: http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
Email: diabsupport@gmail.com
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/justiceforhassandiab
Twitter: https://twitter.com/justiceforhdiab