Please come to a support event for Dr. Hassan Diab and meet him in person before his trial in France (April 2023).
Event live-streamed on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/JusticeforHDiab
Free food, silent auction, live music… Bring a friend or two or more!
Please share the link to the video widely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXRJbvTL_Do
A transcript of the video is available: here
Dr. Hassan Diab is Canadian citizen and sociology professor who lives in Ottawa, Canada. He was wrongfully extradited to France in November 2014 for alleged involvement in a bombing on Rue Copernic in Paris in 1980. He was held for more than three years in a prison near Paris while the investigation continued. In January of 2018, two French investigative judges determined that there was no evidence linking Hassan to the bombing, and he was released unconditionally and returned to his home in Canada.
However, due to political pressure, French prosecutors appealed Hassan’s release, and despite a wealth of evidence exonerating him, the French judiciary set an April 2023 date for trying Hassan for a crime he did not commit.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government must stop the relentless persecution of Hassan, and declare publicly that Canada will not entertain another request for Hassan’s extradition!
With an unfair trial in France looming, Hassan needs all the help he can get to prevent a miscarriage of justice and a wrongful second extradition.
Hassan was extradited to France in November 2014 and was held for more than three years in a prison near Paris while the investigation into the 1980 Rue Copernic bombing continued. In January of 2018, two French investigative judges determined that there was no evidence linking Hassan to the bombing, and he was released unconditionally and returned to his home in Canada.
However, due to political pressure, French prosecutors appealed Hassan’s release, and despite a wealth of evidence exonerating him, the French judiciary set an April 2023 date for trying Hassan for a crime he did not commit.
Given all the injustices Hassan has already faced, we cannot assume a fair outcome to the show trial. If Hassan is convicted, then France will request his extradition a second time. The Government of Canada must put an end to the relentless persecution Hassan is facing and refuse any future request for his extradition.
Enough is enough! Please help by taking the following two actions:
(1) Sign the petition to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Petition in English
Pétition en français
Please share the petition with at least 5 people you know, and post it widely on social media. We need a groundswell of support to protect Hassan from a second wrongful extradition!
(2) Send a Postcard to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Please send a postcard to Prime Minister Trudeau. Postcards are available at Octopus Books, 116 Third Avenue, Ottawa. Please drop by Octopus Books to sign a postcard, and get extra postcards to share with others.
If you are not in the Ottawa area, you can order postcards by sending an email to diabsupport@gmail.com. Provide with your postal mailing address and the number of postcards you’d like to receive, and we will gladly mail postcards to you.
(No postage is necessary to mail the postcard from Canada.)
Thank you for your continued support, and best wishes for 2023!
Hassan Diab Support Committee
On November 14, 2022, an online press conference was held to discuss Dr. Hassan Diab’s situation and the urgent need for the Canadian government to protect Hassan from any future request for his extradition to France.
Click here to watch a video of the press conference.
Members of the media heard from:
In April 2023, Hassan will face an unfair trial in France for a crime he did not commit. This is despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence. In 2018, two French investigating judges dismissed all charges against him and freed him unconditionally. All the so-called “evidence” that was presented by France to justify Hassan Diab’s extradition in 2014 has been withdrawn, discredited, or rejected. France has offered NO new “evidence” against Hassan. On the contrary, the alibi evidence, proving that Hassan was not in France at the time of the 1980 Paris bombing, has proven unshakable.
Please help by taking several actions for justice for Hassan Diab.
Thanks to all the supporters who turned out at the rally in Ottawa on Sunday, November 13, 2022, marking the 8th anniversary of Hassan Diab’s extradition and demanding that the Canadian Government protect Hassan from further injustice.
For videos of the speakers at the event, click: here
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Participants gathered to protest against France’s decision to put Hassan Diab on trial in April 2023, despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence. In 2018, two French investigating judges dismissed all charges against Hassan and freed him unconditionally. All the so-called “evidence” that was presented by France to justify Hassan’s extradition in 2014 has been withdrawn, discredited, or rejected. France has offered NO new “evidence” against Hassan. On the contrary, the alibi evidence showing that Hassan was not in France at the time of the 1980 Paris bombing has proven unshakable.
At the rally, Matthew Behrens (Social justice advocate; coordinator of the “Homes not Bombs” non-violent direct action network) was MC.
Speakers included:
Also, statements were read from:
The Ottawa Raging Grannies sang a song.
Join our press conference on Dr. Hassan Diab’s situation and the urgent need for the Canadian government to protect Hassan from any future request for his extradition to France.
The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) will carry a livestream of the press conference on their Facebook page: HERE
Speakers include:
In April 2023, Hassan will face an unfair trial in France for a crime he did not commit. This is despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence. In 2018, two French investigating judges dismissed all charges against him and freed him unconditionally. All the so-called “evidence” that was presented by France to justify Hassan Diab’s extradition in 2014 has been withdrawn, discredited, or rejected. France has offered NO new “evidence” against Hassan. On the contrary, the alibi evidence, proving that Hassan was not in France at the time of the 1980 Paris bombing, has proven unshakable.
PM Trudeau must honour the words he uttered in 2018: “I think, for Hassan Diab, we have to recognize first of all that what happened to him never should have happened.”
It is essential that we do everything possible to ensure that there will be no further miscarriage of justice. The Canadian Government MUST protect Hassan and refuse any future extradition request from France following the sham trial scheduled for April 2023.
Please join us for a rally in Ottawa on Sunday November 13, at 1:00 pm ET, demanding that the Canadian Government protect Hassan Diab from further injustice, stop the relentless persecution he is facing, and refuse any future request for Hassan’s extradition.
(For a list of other actions in November 2022, marking the 8th anniversary of Hassan’s extradition, click here.)
At the rally, Matthew Behrens (Social justice advocate; coordinator of the “Homes not Bombs” non-violent direct action network) will be MC.
Speakers will include:
Also, statements will be read from:
The Ottawa Raging Grannies will sing a song.
In April 2023, Hassan will face an unfair trial in France for a crime he did not commit. This is despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence. In 2018, two French investigating judges dismissed all charges against him and freed him unconditionally. All the so-called “evidence” that was presented by France to justify Hassan Diab’s extradition in 2014 has been withdrawn, discredited, or rejected. France has offered NO new “evidence” against Hassan. On the contrary, the alibi evidence, proving that Hassan was not in France at the time of the 1980 Paris bombing, has proven unshakable.
PM Trudeau must honour the words he uttered in 2018: “I think, for Hassan Diab, we have to recognize first of all that what happened to him never should have happened.”
It is essential that we do everything possible to ensure that there will be no further miscarriage of justice. The Canadian Government MUST protect Hassan and refuse any future extradition request from France following the sham trial scheduled for April 2023.
In April 2023, Dr. Hassan Diab will face an unfair trial in France for a crime he did not commit. This is despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence. All the so-called “evidence” that was presented by France to justify Hassan Diab’s extradition in 2014 has been withdrawn, discredited, or rejected. France has offered NO new evidence against Hassan. On the contrary, the alibi evidence, proving that Hassan was not in France at the time of the 1980 Paris bombing, has proven unshakable.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must honour the words he uttered in 2018: “I think, for Hassan Diab, we have to recognize first of all that what happened to him never should have happened […] and make sure that it never happens again.”
It is essential that we do everything possible to ensure that there will be no further miscarriage of justice. The Canadian Government MUST protect Hassan and make it clear that a second request for Hassan Diab’s extradition to France will not be accepted.
We are marking the 8th anniversary of Hassan’s extradition with a series of public actions. These will include a rally at the Human Rights Monument in Ottawa on Sunday, November 13, a press conference on November 14, a petition to be delivered to PM Trudeau, a series of op-eds, and renewed lobbying activities.
Please join us in this effort!
1. Join the Rally in Ottawa (November 13)
Please join the rally in Ottawa on Sunday November 13, at 1:00 pm ET, demanding that the Canadian Government protect Hassan Diab from further injustice, stop the relentless persecution he is facing, and refuse any future request for Hassan’s extradition.
Matthew Behrens (Social justice advocate; coordinator of the “Homes not Bombs” non-violent direct action network) will be MC.
Speakers will include:
Also, statements will be read from:
The Ottawa Raging Grannies will sing a song.
2. Attend the Press Conference on Zoom (November 14)
Join our press conference on Hassan’s situation and the urgent need for the Canadian government to protect Hassan from any future request for his extradition to France.
The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) will carry a livestream of the press conference on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/iclmg.csilc
Speakers include:
3. Sign the Petition Addressed to PM Trudeau
Please sign the petition urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to protect Hassan Diab from further injustice, and say NO to a potential second extradition to France for a crime he did not commit.
If you haven’t done so already, please sign the petition so we can reach 20,000 signatures as soon as possible.
If you have already signed, a BIG THANK YOU. Hassan and his family are deeply grateful for your support!
Please share the petition widely among your family, friends, and networks, and on social media.
4. Send an Email to PM Trudeau Using ICLMG’s One-Click Tool
5. Write an Op-Ed
Write an op-ed highlighting the injustice Hassan is facing, drawing on material from the above petition, letter to PM Trudeau, and this info sheet.
Many thanks for your support!
Thanks to your support, our petition to protect Hassan Diab from further injustice and say NO to any future request for Hassan’s extradition has garnered over 6,500 signatures since it was launched on June 6.
Hassan and his family are deeply grateful for such outpouring of support. HOWEVER, we know it will take many more signatures to persuade the Canadian government to protect Hassan Diab from another extradition.
Therefore, we strongly urge you to sign the petition (if you haven’t done so already), and share it as widely as possible so we would exceed 10,000 signatures as soon as possible.
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
(Please sign either the English or French version of the petition.)
In April 2023, Hassan will face an unfair, political trial in France for a crime he did not commit. The trial flies in the face of overwhelming evidence of Hassan’s innocence. Hassan’s French lawyers point to the immense political pressure being applied to keep the case alive. We need to show that people of conscience won’t stand for the absurd and unjust miscarriage of justice that Hassan and his family have been forced to endure for more than 13 years.
Many thanks,
Hassan Diab Support Committee
Please sign the petition calling upon Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Government of Canada to: (a) Put an end to the continuing miscarriage of justice that Hassan Diab is facing, and (b) Refuse any future request for Hassan Diab’s extradition.
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
(Please sign either the English or French version of the petition.)
Exactly 11 years ago, on June 6, 2011, the Canadian extradition judge, Justice Robert Maranger, committed Dr. Hassan Diab for extradition to France. His decision was based solely on deeply flawed handwriting evidence which he described as “convoluted”, “very confusing”, and “with conclusions that are suspect”. Justice Maranger noted that Canada’s extradition law, with its very weak protections, left him no choice but to commit Hassan for extradition.
Hassan was extradited to France in November 2014 and was held for more than three years in a prison near Paris while the investigation into the 1980 Rue Copernic bombing continued. In January of 2018, two French investigative judges determined that there was no evidence linking Hassan to the bombing, and he was released unconditionally and returned to Canada.
In June 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated: “I think, for Hassan Diab, we have to recognize first of all that what happened to him never should have happened […] and make sure that it never happens again.”
However, due to political pressure, French prosecutors appealed Hassan’s release, and despite a wealth of evidence exonerating him, France’s bizarrely unjust and Kafkaesque prosecution continues. In a decision that shocks the conscience, the French judiciary set an April 2023 date for the trial of Hassan, more than five years after he was cleared of all accusations and freed without conditions by French investigative judges. Hassan’s nightmare has returned as he now faces the danger of being extradited yet again to France for a crime he did not commit.
PLEASE sign the English or French version of the petition, and share it widely with family, friends, and your networks. We need a groundswell of support to protect Hassan from a SECOND wrongful extradition!