The grave violations of the rights of Dr. Hassan Diab, wrongfully extradited to France, lays bare how the Extradition Act fails Canadian citizens.
On Oct. 21, 2021, media were invited to an exclusive online press briefing on the Halifax Proposals, a new blueprint for urgent reform of Canada’s Extradition Act (1999), developed by leading extradition, legal, and human rights experts in Canada. The proposals present a clear path for Canadian MPs and the incoming government to address the significant failings in Canada’s extradition system.
At the briefing, Don Bayne (Hassan Diab’s Canadian lawyer), Rob Currie (Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University), and John Packer (Director of the Human Rights Research & Education Centre, University of Ottawa) highlighted the weaknesses and failings of Canada’s Extradition Act, the growing demands for its reform, and presented the Halifax Proposals, a comprehensive model for the fundamental renewal of this essential piece of legislation and its protection of the rights of Canadian citizens.
The briefing was moderated by Sharry Aiken (associate professor in the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University and co-editor-in-chief of PKI Global Justice Journal). It was hosted by the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG).
You can read the Halifax Proposals: here
On January 25, 2022, the Hassan Diab Support Committee and the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) held a press conference commenting on the setting of a date (April 2023) for the trial of Dr. Hassan Diab. This is a shocking and inexplicable reversal of the January 2018 decision clearing Dr. Diab of all accusations and freeing him unconditionally. France continues its baseless prosecution more than four years after Hassan was exonerated by French anti-terrorism magistrates. At the press conference, Tim McSorley (National Coordinator, ICLMG), Jo Wood (representing the Hassan Diab Support Committee), Alex Neve (Former Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, Senior Fellow at the University of Ottawa, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs), and Rob Currie (Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University), commented on the shocking implications for Dr. Diab and his family. A copy of the media advisory about the press conference is available: here In a decision that shocks the conscience, the French judiciary has set an April 2023 date for the trial of Ottawa professor Dr. Hassan Diab. This is a shocking and inexplicable reversal of the January 2018 decision clearing Dr. Diab of all accusations and freeing him unconditionally. France continues its baseless prosecution more than four years after Hassan was exonerated by French anti-terrorism magistrates. The Hassan Diab Support Committee will hold a press conference commenting on the setting of a trial date. A livestream of the press conference will be available on the ICLMG Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/iclmg.csilc At the press conference, Tim McSorley (National Coordinator, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group – ICLMG), Jo Wood (representing the Hassan Diab Support Committee), Alex Neve (Former Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, Senior Fellow at the University of Ottawa, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs), and Rob Currie (Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University), will comment on the shocking implications for Dr. Diab and his family. A copy of the media advisory about the press conference is available: here How You Can Help Canada must speak out in defence of this innocent Canadian who faces a continuing miscarriage of justice. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government must declare publicly that Canada will NOT entertain another French request for Hassan’s extradition. 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 […] and make sure that it never happens again.” 1) Send a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Please send a letter to PM Trudeau asking him to honour his words and put an end to Dr. Hassan Diab’s long and troubling ordeal. You may write your own letter, or send the online letter at: 2) Email the “Act Now Sir!” Video to PM Trudeau Email PM Trudeau (pm@pm.gc.ca) a link to the following video/poem by Michelle Weinroth, asking him to intervene and protect Hassan. 3) Send a Postcard to PM Trudeau Postcards addressed to PM Trudeau 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 friends. If you are not in the Ottawa area, you can order postcards by sending an email to diabsupport@gmail.com indicating your postal mailing address and the number of postcards you’d like to receive, and we will gladly mail postcards to you. Thank you for your continued support! Thanks to everyone who participated in the phone-in on November 25 asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to honor his words from June 2018 and refuse any future request from France for the extradition of Dr. Hassan Diab. Your support is vital to protecting the rights of people in Canada against unjust prosecution and violation of fundamental rights. If you haven’t called PM Trudeau yet, please do so. The Prime Minister’s contact information is included below, as well as a sample message in both English and French. Here is a link to a media advisory about this important action: Phone-In Information: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau When you call, you will probably be transferred to leave your message on an answering machine, which is fine. Please be sure to say your name and give your phone number. Click on the links below for an example of a message you can leave, but please feel free to use your own words. Even one sentence, asking the PM to publicly declare Canada’s intent to refuse another request from France for Hassan’s extradition, will help! Phone message for PM Justin Trudeau Message téléphonique pour PM Justin Trudeau Thank you for your continued support! Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has selected new cabinet ministers and today is the start of a new Parliamentary session. We need to keep up the pressure to make sure that the Canadian government prioritizes justice. Hassan Diab must be protected and his persecution must end. No one should go through what Hassan has endured, and Canada’s Extradition Act must be reformed! We ask you to please telephone the office of Prime Minister Trudeau and insist politely but firmly that the Prime Minister follow through on the statement he made on June 20, 2018, by publicly declaring that Canada will refuse any future request from France for Hassan Diab’s extradition. See our media advisory on this important action. PM Trudeau contact information: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Constituency Office (Montreal, Quebec): When you call, you will probably be transferred to leave your message on an answering machine, which is fine. Please, be sure to say your name and give your phone number. Click on the links below for an example of a message you can leave, but please feel free to use your own words. Even one sentence, asking the PM to publicly declare Canada’s intent to refuse another request from France for Hassan’s extradition, will help! Phone message for PM Justin Trudeau Message téléphonique pour PM Justin Trudeau Postcards in Support of Hassan Diab Postcards calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to protect Hassan Diab from ongoing persecution 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 friends. If you are not in the Ottawa area, you can order postcards by sending an email to diabsupport@gmail.com with your postal mailing address and the number of postcards you’d like to receive, and we will gladly mail postcards to you. You can see a photo of the postcard (front and back): here. No postage is necessary to mail the postcard from Canada. Recent Articles and Interviews • Interview with Roger Clark of the Hassan Diab Support Committee, Vancouver Co-op Radio, November 15, 2021 • “How Prime Minister Trudeau can prove that he is serious about fighting Islamophobia” by Monia Mazigh, rabble.ca, October 26, 2021 • “Canadian extradition system in need of significant overhaul, legal experts say” by Robert Currie, Lawyer’s Daily, October 25, 2021 • “Canada’s unfair extradition system needs major reform, legal and human rights experts say” by Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press, October 21, 2021 Thank you for your continued support! Hassan Diab Support Committee
(a copy of the letter will be sent to your Member of Parliament)
(No postage is necessary to mail the postcard from Canada.)
Phone-in to PM Justin Trudeau
Hill Office – House of Commons: (613) 992-4211
Constituency Office (Montreal, Quebec): (514) 277-6020
Hill Office – House of Commons:
Phone: 1 (613) 992-4211
Phone: 1 (514) 277-6020
Web: http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
Email: diabsupport@gmail.com
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/justiceforhassandiab
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JusticeforHDiabb
Twitter: https://twitter.com/justiceforhdiab