On 27 January 2021, a French Court of Appeal decided to refer Dr. Hassan Diab’s case to trial, three years after a lower court set him free because of overwhelming evidence of his innocence. The decision of the Court of Appeal is the continuation of a long odyssey of injustice that Hassan and his family have endured for more than 12 years. The following organisations have issued public statements in support of Hassan.

Amnesty International
French court ruling in Hassan Diab case deals a devastating blow to justice
“The French court’s decision to keep pursuing this prolonged injustice against Hassan Diab is unacceptable. His family has been through so much over the past 12 years, only to learn that this painful saga is not over. The Canadian government must do everything in its power to have these charges dropped so Hassan and his family can move forward.”

BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA)
Canada Must Intervene in Case of Hassan Diab
“Dr. Diab is facing a French Court of Appeal ruling ordering him to stand trial, potentially in absentia, on baseless accusations of terrorism years after a lower court in France cleared his name due to lack of evidence. There is no new evidence being introduced, and this is the first time that the French Court of Appeal has ever overturned the findings of the investigative judges in a terrorism case. We are urging the federal government to commit to not extraditing Dr. Diab and to proactively intervene with their French counterparts to have these charges dropped.”

Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT)
French court’s ruling is a further injustice for Hassan Diab (January 2021)
“Rather than pursuing the continued persecution of Dr. Diab, French authorities should focus on finding the true culprit or culprits of this horrific crime. CAUT will continue to support him in his appeal of this decision to the Supreme Court of France.”

Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT)
To PM Justin Trudeau: Re Your government’s support to intervene in the Hassan Diab case (May 2021)
“The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) is deeply concerned by the January ruling of France’s Court of Appeal that Dr. Hassan Diab, a dual Lebanese-Canadian citizen, must stand trial—possibly in absentia—on baseless accusations of terrorism. We are writing to urge your government to refuse extradition requests from France, and to put an immediate end to this failure of fundamental justice… CAUT has closely monitored Dr. Diab’s case since his arrest in 2008 and eventual extradition to France. We’ve since been gravely concerned by the ongoing violations of his civil liberties and human rights.”

Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
Letter from CLC President regarding Hassan Diab
“I am writing today, on behalf of three million Canadian workers, to express concern regarding the case of Dr. Hassan Diab… I call on you and your government to honour your words by taking action to put an end to Dr. Hassan Diab’s long and troubling ordeal. To further prolong this miscarriage of justice is an offence to Canadian values and a manifest failure to protect the fundamental human rights of Canadians.”

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau
“We urge your government to ensure the rights of Dr. Diab are protected by committing to not extradite him to France a second time and by proactively intervening with your French counterparts to have the charges against him dropped. The ordeal and travesty of justice that Dr. Diab and his family have endured must end and must not happen to anyone else.”

Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice (CUSJ)
CUSJ Speaks on Hassan Diab
“Why did our extradition laws allow Diab to be extradited when there was no credible evidence against him? … It is time for the Canadian government to stand up and take responsibility for their part in this travesty of justice. He [Trudeau] should put pressure on the French government to dismiss these charges and release Professor Diab once and for all. He should call a full public and independent inquiry into the Canadian extradition system. What would be unconscionable would be to send him back to France. That must never happen.”

European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control
The Case of Hassan Diab and Issues in Canadian Extradition Law
“In light of the complete lack of evidence against Dr. Hassan Diab continued French prosecutorial
efforts to bring him to trial can only be interpreted as political in nature. While it is understandable that victims of the bombing and their families continue to be upset and pressuring for justice, the further persecution, and prosecution, of an innocent man is not a satisfactory or ethical resolution to this.”

Independent Jewish Voices – Canada
IJV Stands with Hassan Diab: No Evidence, No Trial
“IJV is calling on the Canadian government to take the following three actions: 1) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau must intervene with their French counterparts to put a stop to this endless, Kafkaesque affair; (2) The Prime Minister must put into action his statement of June 20, 2018, that what happened to Dr. Diab should never happen again, and commit to not extraditing him to France a second time; (3) The government must immediately initiate steps to reform its extradition laws to ensure that no other person is forced to suffer through the same ordeal as Dr. Diab ever again.”

International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group ICLMG)
Prime Minister Trudeau Must Intervene after Outrageous Ruling in Hassan Diab’s Case
“It is outrageous that a French court of appeal has decided to overturn the dismissal of the case against Hassan Diab and to order a trial. There has been no new evidence introduced, and nothing that changes the decision from three years ago when the investigating judges released him without charge.”

Just Peace Advocates
Standing with Dr. Hassan Diab
“Just Peace Advocates joins in the call for immediate action by the Canadian government. Over a dozen years ago, Dr. Diab was accused of acts of terrorism in relation to the bombing of a Paris synagogue in 1980. These accusations were proven to be groundless… We too continue to stand with Dr. Diab, his partner Rania, their children and the Justice for Hassan Diab Support Committee until this matter is resolved and Dr. Diab is completely free.”

National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE)
NUPGE urges Canada to act in case of Hassan Diab
“The Canadian government has a responsibility to take action to right this wrong. I am asking you to raise this matter with your French counterparts and to communicate the view that the proper course of action is for the French authorities to drop these unfounded charges against Diab and to not continue with the prosecution.”

Union Juive Française Pour La Paix (UJFP)
Non a une Nouvelle Extradition de Hassan Diab, Hassan Diab est innocent. (Translation: No to another extradition of Hassan Diab, Hassan Diab is innocent.)
“L’UJFP s’associe au comité Hassan Diab du Canada pour exiger qu’il ne soit pas extradé vers la France. Non au harcèlement judiciaire politique. Liberté totale pour Hassan Diab.”(Translation: “The UJFP is joining forces with the Hassan Diab support committee in Canada to demand that Hassan not be extradited to France. No to political judicial harassment. Total freedom for Hassan Diab.”)

United Jewish People’s Order – Winchevsky Centre
Letter to PM Trudeau — Support Hassan Diab: No Trial
“We at the United Jewish People’s Order (UJPO)-Canada call on Justice Minister David Lametti and the federal government to stand by Hassan Diab, a citizen of Canada and an innocent man who France is determined to lock up based on discredited handwriting analysis. We further call on the Canadian government to tell France that the proper course of action is to drop this case.”