Amnesty International is holding a press conference on Dr. Hassan Diab’s case, calling on the Canadian government to intervene and ensure Dr. Diab is released from prison in France without delay.

When: Wednesday, June 21, 2017, 1:00 pm (EST)
Where: Charles Lynch Room, Centre Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada — map

Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, and Chantal Vallerand, of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, will speak at the press conference, as will Dr. Diab’s Canadian lawyer Don Bayne, and Hassan’s wife Rania. The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association will also make statements at the press conference.

New evidence of Dr. Diab’s innocence uncovered by the French investigating judge in the last few days will be presented at the press conference.

A live stream of the press conference can be followed, starting at 1:00 pm (EST), on the ICLMG Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/iclmg.csilc

The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A2

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,

We address this Open Letter to you on behalf of the thousands of Canadians who are deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating legal situation of Dr. Hassan Diab, a Canadian citizen wrongfully jailed overseas. We are requesting an emergency meeting with you to discuss Dr. Diab’s case in the hope that an urgent solution may be found to remedy the miscarriage of justice of which he is victim.

Dr. Diab is an Ottawa University professor and father of two young Canadian children who has been jailed for over two and a half years in France as a result of a controversial and legally questionable extradition proceeding commenced by the previous Conservative government.

You may have heard of this unique case, in which Dr. Diab was sought by the French for a crime he did not commit. Dr. Diab’s finger prints, palm prints, physical description, and handwriting do not match those of the suspect sought for the October 1980 bombing in Paris that tragically killed four people. Dr. Diab has consistently denied involvement and condemned the violence, while French investigating judges have recently confirmed that he was in Lebanon at the time of the bombing. This confirms that he was not even in France, so could not have participated in the bombing.

Of critical concern is the fact that Dr. Diab has been ordered released on bail six times over the past year by investigating judges in charge of his case, but on each occasion the Court of Appeal overturned all release orders at the prosecutor’s behest. French lawyers have called this situation unprecedented, a political manoeuvre to look tough on terror even though a vast body of evidence shows Dr. Diab did not commit the crime.

The inability of Dr. Diab to obtain release from a cell in which he is confined 20 hours a day – even while two investigating judges have called for such a judicially-sanctioned release – recalls the frustrations of other Canadians wrongfully held overseas, such as journalist Mohamed Fahmy.

We know you are familiar with Mr. Fahmy’s case, because you issued a powerful statement on his behalf while in opposition, saying that then Prime Minister Stephen Harper “has an obligation to use the full force of the Prime Minister’s Office to help Canadian citizens when they are unjustly imprisoned abroad. His inaction must end today.”

We believe it is time for you to consider how to employ the same forceful use of your office in this case as well, and we therefore seek this urgent meeting to discuss how we might proceed with a unified voice in defence of the rights of a Canadian citizen who finds himself caught in a web of state security politics.

The unprecedented denial of Dr. Diab’s right to a small measure of liberty while awaiting the ultimate outcome of his case would rightly be condemned had it occurred in Egypt or Iraq or China, yet your government has been silent in the face of this injustice. It’s the latest setback in a long-running saga that starts with a case that the Canadian extradition judge called “weak,”, “convoluted,” and “confusing,” adding “the prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial seem unlikely”.

Prime Minister Trudeau, we urgently need to discuss how you can add your voice to the thousands* across this land who are calling for Hassan Diab to be brought home to his family. Many have expressed profound doubts about the case, including, most recently, the former Canadian Jewish Congress director and high-profile human rights activist Bernie Farber, who wrote, “there are undoubtedly serious issues here to be deeply considered. After all, a man is in prison, French Courts seem all over the place and in the end justice must not only be done but it must be seen to be done.”

Dr. Diab’s lawyer, Donald Bayne, one of this nation’s most respected litigators, calls this “the classic recipe for the wrongful conviction of a Canadian citizen.”

Faisal Kutty, an associate professor at Valparaiso University Law School in Indiana and an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, writes in the May 4 Toronto Star that the case is a travesty, adding “Prime Minister Trudeau in the past had called on the Harper government to intervene in such situations. Indeed, Trudeau has spoken out in the past in defence of citizens. Diab’s case is ripe for such an intervention.”

This case glaringly calls out for the intervention of the Canadian Government. We firmly believe that a meeting with key members of Dr. Diab’s support group would not only help clarify any questions you might have, but also lead to the development of a multi-pronged strategy to not only win Dr. Diab bail, but also bring him home where he belongs.

Dr. Diab’s Kafkaesque predicament stems from the actions of a previous government. Those actions cannot be undone. However, your government has the power to ultimately mitigate and bring about an end to the harm and suffering that he and his family continue to experience on a daily basis.

We look forward to agreeing on a time and date for this emergency meeting.

Sincerely,

Justice for Hassan Diab Support Committee
diabsupport@gmail.com
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org

* Hassan Diab has been supported by prominent organizations such as the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA), Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) and many other organizations and unions, as well as eminent individuals such as Hassan Yussuff (President of the Canadian Labor Congress), Noam Chomsky (Professor Emeritus of Linguistics, MIT), Jim Turk (Former Executive Director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers and distinguished visiting professor at Ryerson University), Rabbi David Mivisair (Ahavat Olam Congregation), Gerald Caplan (Africa scholar and a former NDP national director) and countless others.

On Wednesday May 17, more than 120 supporters of Dr. Hassan Diab gathered in front of the office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa, urging him to intervene and bring Hassan back to his home in Canada.

The Noontime vigil was attended by politicians, human rights activists, and supporters of Hassan, and included remarks by Rania Tfaily (Hassan’s wife), Don Davies (Member of Parliament), Elizabeth May (leader of the Green Party), Monia Mazigh (author and human rights activist), Tim McSorley (National Coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group), Frances Deverell (retired Unitarian Minister), and Matthew Behrens (writer and social justice advocate), among others.

Matthew Behrens read statements of support from Senator Kim Pate, Mohamed Fahmy (Canadian journalist formerly detained in Egypt), Larry Rousseau (Executive Vice President for the Public Service Alliance of Canada), and Roger Clark (former Amnesty International Secretary General).

MP Don Davies called on the Canadian government to “immediately instruct its diplomats to convey to the French authorities the need to comply with the six separate French court orders to release Hassan Diab on bail.”

“We need to move quickly. We need to ask for Hassan’s release to return to Canada,” said MP Elizabeth May. “He should be here with his family in Ottawa.”

Addressing the crowd, Rania Tfaily read excerpts from one of Hassan’s letters and described his ordeal. “He spends his days swinging between pain and despair, alone over 20 hours per day in a tiny cell, thousands of miles away from his family and home”.

Roger Clark wrote in his statement, “As the former Secretary General of Amnesty International (Canada), I have rarely seen a case that so glaringly calls out for the intervention of the Canadian Government. I firmly believe that a meeting with key members of Dr. Diab’s support group would not only help clarify any questions [the Prime Minister] might have, but also lead to the development of a multi-pronged strategy to not only win Dr. Diab bail, but also bring him home where he belongs.”

Matthew Behrens reminded Prime Minister Trudeau that, while in opposition, “Trudeau called on his predecessor to use the full powers of his office to intervene on behalf of Canadians unjustly detained abroad. Now we are calling on Mr. Trudeau to do the same with Dr. Diab.”

Canadian citizen, university professor, husband, and father of two young children in Ottawa, Dr. Hassan Diab, was unjustly extradited from Canada to France almost three years ago. He remains in detention outside Paris while French authorities continue their 27-year old investigation of the 1980 bombing near a Paris synagogue. At the extradition hearing, the Canadian judge called the evidence against Dr. Diab “illogical”, “very problematic”, and “convoluted”. Nevertheless, the Canadian judge stated that the low threshold for evidence under Canada’s extradition law left him no choice but to commit Dr. Diab to extradition.

Dr. Diab has been ordered released six times by French investigative judges who found that there is “consistent evidence” that Dr. Diab was not in France at the time of the 1980 Paris attack. However, each time the French Court of Appeal quashed the release orders at the Prosecutor’s behest because of the political climate in France.

Dr. Diab’s supporters have launched a Parliamentary petition calling upon the Government of Canada to work towards the immediate granting of bail to Hassan and securing his urgent return to his family and home in Canada.

(Le français suit l’anglais)

Hassan Diab is an innocent Canadian citizen, a university professor, husband, and father of two young Ottawa children, wrongfully sent to France where he sits in a tiny jail cell 22 hours a day undergoing a years-long investigation for a crime he did not commit. The physical description, the finger and palm prints, and the handwriting of the suspect do not match Hassan’s, and French investigating judges have concluded that Hassan was not even in France at the time of the attack committed in Paris in 1980.

Hassan has been ordered released on bail six times within the past year by the investigating judges, but each time the French Court of Appeal quashed the release order at the Prosecutor’s behest because of the political climate in France.

When will Hassan’s Kafkaesque nightmare end?

We are calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to live up to his words that Canada is back on the world stage and looking out for its citizens. In August 2015, Trudeau said that then-PM Harper “has an obligation to use the full force of the Prime Minister’s Office to help Canadian citizens when they are unjustly imprisoned abroad. His inaction must end today.”

We believe Prime Minister Trudeau must speak out publicly and use the full force of his office to help Canadian citizen Hassan Diab, who is in the extraordinary situation of remaining behind bars despite being ordered released an unprecedented six times.

Read open letter to Mr. Trudeau from the Hassan Diab Support Committee.

This is a critical time in building pressure to support Hassan Diab. Please come out on May 17, bring a friend or two, and sign the Petition to the Government of Canada:

https://petitions.parl.gc.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-833

For more information, contact:
diabsupport@gmail.com
http://www.JusticeForHassanDiab.org

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Hassan Diab, citoyen canadien innocent, professeur d’université, mari et père à Ottawa de deux jeunes enfants, fut extradé à tort en France, où il reste incarcéré dans une minuscule cellule 22 heures par jour, soumis à une enquête sans fin pour un crime qu’il n’a pas commis. La description physique du suspect, son écriture, et ses empreintes de doigts et de la paume ne correspondent pas à celles d’Hassan, et les juges d’instruction français ont conclu qu’Hassan n’était même pas en France au moment de l’attentat commis à Paris en 1980.

Depuis un an les juges d’instruction ont ordonné six fois sa remise en liberté sous bracelet électronique, mais chaque fois la Cour d’Appel française a renversé la décision, se pliant à la demande du Parquet qui redoute des troubles de l’ordre public étant donné le climat politique actuel en France.

Quand se terminera ce cauchemar à la Kafka? Nous faisons appel à notre Premier Ministre Trudeau. Qu’il agisse selon ses paroles lorsqu’il affirme que le Canada est revenu sur la scène mondiale et protège ses citoyens. En août 2015 Monsieur Trudeau déclara que Monsieur Harper, Premier Ministre de l’époque, avait “une obligation de mettre toute la puissance de sa fonction de Premier Ministre au service des citoyens canadiens lorsqu’ils sont injustement emprisonnés à l’étranger. Son inaction doit cesser aujourd’hui.”

Nous pensons que Monsieur le Premier Ministre Trudeau doit prendre la parole en s’appuyant sur toute la puissance de sa fonction pour porter secours au citoyen canadien Hassan Diab, qui reste de manière inouïe, sans précédent, derrière les barreaux, malgré six ordres de mise en liberté.

C’est un moment critique pour soutenir Hassan Diab en mettant la pression sur le gouvernement canadien. Alertez vos amis et venez nombreux le 17 mai, et signez la pétition au gouvernement du Canada:

https://petitions.parl.gc.ca/fr/Petition/Details?Petition=e-833

Pour des informations supplémentaires, contactez:
diabsupport@gmail.com
http://www.JusticeForHassanDiab.org

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

2 May 2017, Ottawa – On Tuesday, May 2nd, the French Court of Appeal overturned once again the release order of Dr. Hassan Diab at the prosecutor’s behest. Over the past year, Dr. Diab has been ordered released six times by French anti-terrorism investigative judges, but his release orders have been repeatedly overturned.The investigative judges found that there is “consistent evidence” that Dr. Diab was in Lebanon at the time of the 1980 Paris bombing and stated that this finding demands his release.

William Bourdon, Hassan’s lawyer in France, noted that it is unprecedented in France to have multiple release orders by the investigative judges overturned. He noted that “after 36 years and since no one else was indicted, the Court of Appeal is clinging on to Hassan Diab. He is detained because of the judges’ fear to be accused of laxity in the context of today’s fight against terrorism in France. Such a situation would be inconceivable in an ordinary-law procedure.”

Diab’s supporters are calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to live up to his words that Canada is back on the world stage and looking out for its citizens. In August 2015, Trudeau said that then-Prime Minister Harper “has an obligation to use the full force of the Prime Minister’s Office to help Canadian citizens when they are unjustly imprisoned abroad. His inaction must end today.” *

Supporters are calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to speak out publicly and use the full force of his office to speak up for Canadian citizen Hassan Diab, who is in the extraordinary position of still being behind bars despite being ordered released an unprecedented six times.

Don Bayne, Dr. Diab’s Canadian lawyer, noted that “Dr. Diab’s continued incarceration is wholly and manifestly unjust. It is past time for this government to come to the aid of a Canadian citizen, to end this travesty of justice, to bring him home. ‘Prime Minister Trudeau, Minister Freeland, where are you when an innocent Canadian needs you?’ ”

Roger Clark, the former Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, remarked that “This travesty of justice continues solely for political reasons, there being no legal basis for Dr. Diab’s continuing imprisonment. Rather than acknowledge that an egregious error has been perpetrated, French authorities insist on maintaining their cruel charade against a background of widespread islamophobia and a fear of appearing weak on terrorism. Canada must immediately convey to the French Government the urgency of preventing further distortion of justice and of ensuring Hassan Diab’s speedy return to his home and family.”

In May 2016, Dr. Diab was ordered released on bail by the French investigative judge and the judge of freedom and detention. He spent ten days out on bail in Paris without incident before his release order was overturned by the same panel of Court of Appeal judges which has repeatedly denied him bail.

Dr. Hassan Diab was extradited from Canada to France in November 2014, for investigation regarding the bombing of a Paris synagogue in 1980. The Canadian extradition judge described the evidence against Hassan as “illogical”, “very problematic”, and “convoluted”. However, the Canadian judge stated that the low threshold for evidence under Canada’s extradition law left him no choice but to commit Dr. Diab to extradition.

Dr. Diab’s supporters have launched a Parliamentary petition calling upon the Government of Canada to work towards the immediate granting of bail to Hassan and securing his urgent return to his family and home in Canada.

* Source:
https://www.liberal.ca/statement-by-liberal-party-of-canada-leader-justin-trudeau-on-mohamed-fahmy

For more information:

Hassan Diab Support Committee
diabsupport@gmail.com
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org

On Thursday April 27, 2017, there was a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, regarding the continued detention of Dr. Hassan Diab.

Speakers were:

• Don Bayne, Hassan’s Canadian lawyer
• Rania Tfaily, Hassan’s wife
• Roger Clark, former Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada and member of the Hassan Diab Support Committee
• Tim McSorley, National Coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG)

Click on the above video or link to watch the press conference.

It is a crucial time in Dr. Hassan Diab’s case. Two French investigative judges have ordered Hassan’s release on bail for the sixth time because of “consistent evidence” that Hassan was in Lebanon at the time of the 1980 bombing. This encouraging news has not turned into getting Hassan back to Canada, not even out on bail. All previous release orders have been appealed by the French prosecutor and overturned by the Court of Appeal because of the political climate in France. The hearing of the new appeal is this Friday afternoon.

We are holding a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa today, Thursday April 27, at 11:00 am Eastern, regarding the continued detention of Hassan Diab. You can watch a live-stream of the press conference on the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/iclmg.csilc

We have an URGENT REQUEST!

We feel that enormous pressure needs be put on the Canadian Government to urge them to take action and bring Hassan home.

Therefore, please, can you send a message to the Canadian Ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs?

It might be that you wrote already; however, another reminder will only underline the urgency of your message. Your letter does not have to be long! What counts is the number of letters from Canadians who show that they are concerned about the continued detention of an innocent man, and who want the Government to ACT.

Our message is clear: We urge the Ministers to raise Hassan’s case with the French authorities. Hassan must be released from prison as soon as possible and allowed to return to his home and family in Canada. At the very least, Hassan must be released on bail as the French investigative judges have ordered.

If you want to touch on one or two facts/issues, please see the sample letter:

• Sample letter (.pdf)
• Sample letter (.doc)

Please, send your letter to the following persons:

• Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Chrystia Freeland, chrystia.freeland@international.gc.c
• Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Omar Alghabra, Omar.Alghabra@parl.gc.ca
• Minister of Justice, Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould, Jody.Wilson-Raybould@parl.gc.ca

Finally, if you have not yet done so, please sign our Parliamentary e-petition to urge the Canadian Government to intervene to bring Hassan home:
https://petitions.parl.gc.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-833

With much appreciation and warm regards,

Hassan Diab Support Committee
diabsupport@gmail.com

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

25 April, 2017, Ottawa – Yesterday, two French anti-terrorism investigative judges ordered again the release of Dr. Hassan Diab, the Canadian academic who was extradited from Canada to France in November 2014. The French judges found that there is “consistent evidence” that Dr. Diab was in Lebanon at the time of the 1980 Paris bombing. This is the sixth release order for Dr. Diab since last May, and the second release order within three weeks. The French Court of Appeal overturned all previous release orders. The prosecutor is appealing this latest release order.

William Bourdon, Apolline Cagnat, and Amélie Lefebvre, Hassan’s lawyers in France, noted that “even though two weeks ago, the Court of Appeal overturned for the fifth time the decision to release Hassan Diab, the investigating judges have refused to renew Hassan’s expiring detention warrant. As the investigation progressed, the elements for charge that were already very weak to begin with have shrunk and are now close to nothing, while the elements for discharging Hassan are multiplying and are extremely convincing. The investigating judges are firm on the fact that it is not possible in a state of law to continue to detain Hassan.”

Don Bayne, Dr. Diab’s Canadian lawyer, stated that “the French investigative judges have repeatedly ordered Dr. Diab’s release because of “consistent evidence” that he was studying for and writing exams in Lebanon and was not even in France at the time of the 1980 bombing – and thus is completely innocent. Dr. Diab’s continued incarceration is wholly and manifestly unjust. It is past time for this government to come to the aid of a Canadian citizen, to end this travesty of justice, to bring him home. ‘Prime Minister Trudeau, Minister Freeland, where are you when an innocent Canadian needs you?’ ”

When Dr. Diab was ordered released by the judge of freedom and detention in May 2016, he spent ten days out on bail in Paris without incident, before his release order was overturned by the same panel of Court of Appeal judges which has repeatedly denied him bail.

Dr. Hassan Diab was extradited from Canada to France in November 2014. The Canadian extradition judge described the evidence against Dr. Diab as “illogical”, “very problematic”, and “convoluted”. However, the Canadian judge stated that the low threshold for evidence under Canada’s extradition law left him no choice but to commit Dr. Diab to extradition.

Roger Clark, the former Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, remarked that “this travesty of justice continues solely for political reasons, there being no legal basis for Dr. Diab’s continuing imprisonment. Rather than acknowledge that an egregious error has been perpetrated, French authorities insist on maintaining their cruel charade against a background of widespread islamophobia and a fear of appearing weak on terrorism. Canada must immediately convey to the French Government the urgency of preventing further distortion of justice and of ensuring Hassan Diab’s speedy return to his home and family.”

Supporters of Dr. Diab have launched a Parliamentary petition calling upon the Government of Canada to work towards the immediate granting of bail to Hassan and securing his urgent return to his family and home in Canada.

For more information:

Hassan Diab Support Committee
diabsupport@gmail.com
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org

We urge you to sign our new Parliamentary petition calling upon the Government of Canada to work towards the immediate granting of bail to Hassan Diab and securing his return to his family and home in Canada. To sign the petition, please go to:

https://petitions.parl.gc.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-833

The petition can be signed by Canadian citizens or residents.

Dr. Hassan Diab is a Canadian sociology professor who was unjustly extradited from Canada to France in November 2014. Since then, he has been languishing in a prison cell in France, deprived of his freedom and torn from his family and home in Canada, while the French authorities continue their investigation.

Since his detention, Hassan has been ordered released on bail five times by three different French judges. As recently as April 3rd of this year, the French investigative judge ordered Hassan’s release on the grounds that there is “consistent evidence” that Hassan is innocent of involvement in the bombing outside a Paris Synagogue in 1980. However, each time the prosecutor appealed and the Court of Appeal judges have overturned Hassan’s release.

William Bourdon, Hassan’s lawyer in France remarked: “Hassan Diab’s situation is unprecedented. After 36 years and since no one else was indicted, the court of appeal is clinging to Hassan Diab. He is detained because of the judges’ fear to be accused for laxity in the context of today’s fight against terrorism in France. Such a situation would be inconceivable in an ordinary law situation.”

Don Bayne, Hassan’s Canadian lawyer, said, “It is past time that our government – a government of rights and freedoms for its citizens – moved to help free this man.”

Please share the Parliamentary petition with your family, friends, and social media, so we can collect the greatest number of signatures possible on the Parliamentary petitionbefore it closes on July 11th.

Thank you.

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

Dr. Hassan Diab is a Canadian academic who was extradited from Canada to France in 2014 in a case widely viewed as a wrongful conviction in the making. Since then, he has been imprisoned in France in a segregated unit, with only two hours per day out of his cell.

Dr. Diab was extradited based solely on a widely discredited handwriting report that the Canadian extradition judge described as “illogical”, “very problematic”, “convoluted” and “suspect”, even though Dr. Diab’s fingerprints, palm prints and physical description do not match those of the suspect. The case is anchored on secret, anonymous “intelligence” allegations, possibly gleaned from torture.

The Canadian extradition judge noted that the low threshold for evidence under Canada’s extradition law compelled him to order Dr. Diab’s extradition.

In 2016, a French investigative judge found “consistent evidence” supporting Dr. Diab’s innocence, concluding that he could not have been in Paris at the time of the 1980 bombing for which he is under investigation.

In May and again in October 2016, the French investigative judge ordered Dr. Diab’s release on bail, finding no grounds for his further detention. The French Court of Appeal overturned the release orders due to the political climate in France, and Dr. Diab remains imprisoned to this day.

The “Rubber Stamped” documentary shows the impact of Hassan’s ordeal on his family. Hassan’s supporters and his Canadian lawyer, Don Bayne, talk about the miscarriage of justice and the risk of wrongful conviction.