On June 6, 2011, the judge in Hassan Diab’s extradition case announced his decision to commit Hassan for extradition to France. Hassan was immediately taken to a detention centre in Ottawa.

“In his decision, the judge described the Record of the Case (ROC) provided by France as “replete with seemingly disconnected information”. The judge also noted that the ROC “contained a great deal of argument, hypothesis, conjecture, and references to information received, without describing the source of that information or the circumstances upon which it was received”.

The judge made clear that without the French handwriting analysis report, he could not have committed Hassan for extradition. This is the same handwriting report that that the judge found to be “very problematic”, “very confusing”, and with “suspect conclusions”, and described it as “susceptible to criticism and impeachment”.

In his conclusion, the judge wrote that France presented “a weak case” and that “the prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial, seem unlikely. However it matters not that I hold this view”. The judge said he must commit because he is bound by Canada’s extradition treaty with France.