Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

“[W]e must not remain silent as Canadian citizen and Ottawa professor Hassan Diab faces conviction in France for a gruesome crime for which no credible evidence against him has been presented…

Recent developments in Diab’s case reinforce the need to end his Kafkaesque nightmare. A French judge ordered Diab’s release on bail due to doubts about the evidence in the case. On May 14, 2016, Hassan was released on bail. The prosecutor appealed the judge’s decision and, after spending 10 days out of prison, Hassan was ordered to return to prison. It was an injustice to extradite him in the first place, and it is an injustice to keep him incarcerated while France continues a 35-year investigation.

It has become obvious that broad and sustained pressure in both Canada and France is needed so Diab receives a fair process and is allowed to return to his home and family in Canada. Otherwise, Diab will be wrongfully convicted of a crime to which he has no connection.”

Read the Tikkun Daily article:

• “After years of injustice, Canada should bring Hassan Diab home”
  By David Mivasair, July 5, 2016
  https://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/2016/07/05/jewish-law-and-our-most-cherished-traditions-require-justice-for-hassan-diab

Thank you for a most successful event at the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa on May 20, where there was a “sneak preview” of the short documentary on Hassan’s case, directed by filmmaker Amar Wala.

At the event, Donald Bayne, Hassan’s Canadian lawyer, was guest speaker; Baraa Arar presented some of her own powerful poems; and Hassan’s wife, Rania, spoke from the heart. It was heartwarming to see the outpouring of support for Hassan.

Here’s a video of the presentation by Mr. Donald Bayne:

and here are some photos from the event:

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After his release on bail on May 14, 2016, under house arrest and electronic monitoring, an appeal court in France ordered Dr. Hassan Diab to return to a French prison on May 24, 2016. The unfortunate decision was based on the appeal court’s assumption that Dr. Diab is a flight risk and a threat to civil order. This is despite the fact that Hassan abided by very strict bail conditions for years in Canada and did not flee or cause civil disorder during his 10 days of limited freedom leading up to the appeal court’s decision.

Prior to the appeal court’s decision, Mr. William Bourdon, Hassan’s French attorney, had stated “The court of appeal mentioned the risk of fleeing as a reason to overrule the decision to release Hassan Diab. He will be present at the next hearing so this will prove to the court of appeal that he never intended to flee, as was the case in the whole extradition procedure in Canada.”

Dr. Rania Tfaily, Hassan’s wife, was planning to travel to Paris with the couple’s two young children in the hope they could interact with Hassan outside the prison environment. “Now even this simple dream has been crushed,” she said. “I hope that this [Canadian] government will look into the injustices in Hassan’s case and why a Canadian citizen is being held in detention for more than 18 months for a case that is still under investigation and for which a Canadian judge found the evidence to be lacking.”

Please sign the Bring Hassan Home statement:

• http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/bring-hassan-home-statement

For more information, see:

• “After years of injustice, Canada should bring Hassan Diab home”, By Monia Mazigh, rabble.ca, May 20, 2016
• “French appeal court orders Diab back to jail pending trial”, by Chris Cobb, Ottawa Citizen, May 24, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

“This week, a French judge decided to order the release of Hassan Diab while an investigation into his case continues. It is both ironic and embarrassing to see a French judge decide to do what a Canadian judge should have done many years ago: order Hassan Diab a free man!

… It is important that Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould immediately demand that her French counterpart let Hassan Diab return to Canada to reunite with his wife and children. Due process is not a luxury: it is a pillar of our justice system and Hassan Diab deserves no less.”

Read the rabble.ca article:

• “After years of injustice, Canada should bring Hassan Diab home”
  By Monia Mazigh, May 20, 2016
  http://rabble.ca/columnists/2016/05/after-years-injustice-canada-should-bring-hassan-diab-home

After 18 months in pre-trial detention in France for a crime he did not commit, a French judge released Dr. Hassan Diab on bail on May 14.

The prosecutor has filed an appeal of Hassan’s release, which will be heard by an appeal court early next week. His French lawyer, Mr. William Bourdon, said Hassan will be in court for next week’s appeal, effectively negating the prosecution grounds for returning him to jail.

Mr. Bourdon said, “He [Hassan] will be present at the next hearing so this will prove to the court of appeal that he never intended to flee, as was the case in the whole extradition procedure in Canada.”

In 2011, when the Canadian extradition judge ruled in favor of extradition, he described the evidence as “very problematic” and “suspect”. In an unprecedented move, the Canadian judge stated that “the prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial seem unlikely”. However the judge said that he felt obliged under Canada’s extradition law to commit Hassan to extradition.

Hassan and his family express their gratitude and thanks to supporters who have stood by them since his ordeal began in Canada in 2008.

For more information, see the Ottawa Citizen article:
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/french-judge-orders-terror-accused-diabs-release

DON’T MISS A SNEAK PREVIEW OF THE SHORT DOCUMENTARY on Dr. HASSAN DIAB, directed by award-winning filmmaker Amar Wala.

Getting there: Take Bus #2 – Map

Please come out, watch the short documentary, and hear the latest updates from Hassan’s lawyer, Don Bayne. There will be plenty of time for Q&A.

• Guest Speaker: Don Bayne (Hassan’s lawyer)
• Hear Baraa Arar present some of her own powerful poems
• Hassan’s wife, Rania, and their two children will be happy to meet you!

There will be refreshments and yummy finger foods.

“We now have the classic recipe for the wrongful conviction of a Canadian citizen.” (Statement by Hassan’s lawyer, Don Bayne, on Hassan’s extradition)

Hassan Diab is the Carleton University professor who was extradited to France on November, 14, 2014 in connection with the 1980 Rue Copernic bombing. Hassan has been in prison near Paris for over 17 months.

The Canadian extradition judge described the evidence that the French authorities submitted as “very problematic” and “suspect”.

In an unprecedented move, the Canadian judge stated that “the prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial seem unlikely”.

However the judge said that he felt obliged under Canada’s extradition law to commit Hassan to extradition.

Some links of interest:

• “Canada’s extradition law: A legal conundrum”, by Chris Cobb, Ottawa Citizen, November 2014
• “Civil society must prevent Hassan Diab’s wrongful conviction”, by Tyler Levitan, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, May 2015
• “Canada must demand fair investigation by France in case of Hassan Diab”, by Gerald Caplan, Globe and Mail, November 2015

Canada, have a Change of Heart. Bring Hassan Diab Home!

Map:  https://goo.gl/maps/8PcTmpAsy782
Getting there: Take Bus 9 to the Global Affairs Building

In November, 2014, Dr. Hassan Diab was forcibly removed from Canada and imprisoned in France. Hassan is fighting false allegations leveled against him even though his physical description, his palm and hand prints, and his handwriting do not match those of the suspect in a 1980 crime that Dr. Diab has repeatedly denied involvement in, and condemned.

In other words, the French government is holding the wrong man in jail. If Canada had done its due diligence, its courts would have rejected an extradition request for a man who now faces wrongful conviction and possible life in prison based on secret intelligence and discredited handwriting analysis. This nightmare is shared by Dr. Diab’s family in Ottawa.

We are calling on Canada’s new Liberal government to examine the serious deficiencies in the extradition case against Dr. Diab, admit that the decision to extradite Hassan was unjust, and bring Hassan back to his home, family, and community in Ottawa.

Please join us as we present Easter Eggs to Global Affairs, asking them to realize the French case against Dr. Diab is NOT what it was cracked up to be. We ask them to crack open the case and see how hollow it is inside. We will then walk a short distance to the French embassy, urging them to also realize how sweet it would be – especially as they receive our gifts of Chocolate Eggs – to recognize they have the wrong man in custody and send Hassan Diab back home to Canada.

If you cannot make it, please send a note to the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Stéphane Dion, urging him to speak with his French counterpart about bringing Hassan home. Mr. Dion can be reached at stephane.dion@parl.gc.ca. A sample letter is available at http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/help (look under “WRITE”).

Sponored by: Hassan Diab Support Committtee, diabsupport@gmail.com

Canada, have a Change of Heart. Bring Hassan Diab Home!

Here is a slideshow from our Valentine’s vigil on February 9, 2016, at Global Affairs Canada and the French Embassy in Ottawa, urging them to have a change of heart, recognize they have the wrong man in custody, and send Hassan back home to his family in Canada.

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Valentine Vigil, Ottawa, February 9, 2016

Many thanks to the intrepid supporters who braved the cold and snow in Ottawa — and to others who could not attend but who sent messages to the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Stéphane Dion, urging him to speak with his French counterparts about bringing Hassan home. Mr. Dion can be reached at stephane.dion@parl.gc.ca

Thank you.

Canada, have a Change of Heart. Bring Hassan Diab Home!

Please wear red, and bring flowers and Valentines!

In November, 2014, Dr. Hassan Diab was forcibly removed from Canada and imprisoned in France. Hassan is fighting false allegations leveled against him even though his physical description, his palm and hand prints, and his handwriting do not match those of the suspect in a 1980 crime that Dr. Diab has repeatedly denied involvement in, and condemned.

In other words, the French government is holding an innocent man. Thanks to an extradition law that fails to protect Canadian’s rights, Hassan faces the possibility of wrongful conviction and life in prison based on secret intelligence and discredited handwriting analysis. This nightmare is shared by Hassan’s family in Ottawa.

We are calling on Canada’s new Liberal government to reconsider Hassan’s extradition, declare it has had a change of heart, admit that the decision to extradite Hassan was unjust, and bring Hassan back to his home, family, and community in Ottawa.

Please join us as we present Valentines to Global Affairs Canada, asking them to have a change of heart, and then walk a short distance to the French embassy, urging them to also have a change of heart, recognize they have the wrong man in custody, and send Hassan back home.

Map:  https://goo.gl/maps/8PcTmpAsy782
Getting there: Take Bus 9 to the Global Affairs Building

If you cannot make it, please send a note to the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Stéphane Dion, urging him to speak with his French counterpart about bringing Hassan home. Mr. Dion can be reached at stephane.dion@parl.gc.ca

Sponored by: Hassan Diab Support Committtee, diabsupport@gmail.com

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St. Valentine’s Day is a time to remember all those unjustly jailed. St. Valentine was a priest who was persecuted, tortured, jailed and decapitated by Roman Emperor Claudius because Valentine defied the prohibition on conducting marriages for young people. Claudius was concerned that married men would be less willing to give their lives in battle. Valentine’s last note from prison, “from your Valentine”, eventually became the basis for Valentine greetings.
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Dear friends and supporters,

Our Indiegogo campaign to fund the Hassan Diab Documentary Project concluded on December 21, 2015.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-hassan-diab-documentary-project

During the five-week campaign, we received $16,380 in online donations and $1,645 in cheque donations, totaling $18,025.

We extend our sincerest thanks and gratitude to you for a successful campaign! Thanks to your enthusiastic support, we exceeded our fundraising goal of $15,000.

We will now use $15K of the funds raised to produce a powerful, high-quality documentary to tell Hassan’s story and raise awareness about the deeply flawed case that risks convicting an innocent man. Contributions in excess of $15K go towards Hassan’s legal defence.

We will keep you informed about the progress of the documentary and let you know about opportunities to attend screenings and view the documentary online. Those of you who requested a copy of the documentary, a sponsor credit, or special thanks in the credits will also hear from us again once the documentary is ready.

Again, we are very grateful for your generous support for this important documentary project. We look forward to sharing the finished documentary with you soon.

Sincerely,

Hassan Diab Support Committee