Let’s use the power of the documentary to prevent Hassan’s wrongful conviction!

Hassan Diab is a Canadian citizen who is at serious risk of wrongful conviction for a crime he did not commit. As Gerald Caplan writes in The Globe and Mail, in France, Hassan is being subjected to an unjust legal process that is using discredited evidence and unsourced intelligence against him.

The Hassan Diab Support Committee is working on publicizing Hassan’s case nationally and internationally by producing a documentary about the case for online sharing and public showings.This documentary will help us spread the word and bring justice and freedom for an innocent man.

Please donate to our crowdfunding campaign and share the page with your friends and networks:

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

Our goal is to raise CAD $15,000 by December 20, 2015, to fund the documentary. Any donation, no matter how small, will help achieve our goal.

We encourage you to donate early in the campaign, since a strong start is the biggest predictor of a successful campaign. Any donations in excess of $15,000 will go towards Hassan’s legal defence.

Hassan Diab Support Committee

With the one-year anniversary of his pretrial detention approaching, Dr. Hassan Diab remains in prison in the vicinity of Paris. He has been in detention for one year, since the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear his case on November 13, 2014, and he was extradited to France the following day.

“This is the first anniversary of Dr. Diab’s extradition. He is not doing well. Immediately on reaching France, he was imprisoned. Last week, he was denied bail. Whatever else, his life, and that of his family in Canada, remains a nightmare. They insist on his total innocence, and seem to have much evidence to back them up…

[W]hat Canada can do is strongly demand a fair process from France. Surely all the faulty handwriting analyses should be discarded, as they were in Canada, as well as all the unsourced intelligence that was withdrawn in Canada. In other words, we must demand that no tainted evidence is used against Dr. Diab…”

Read the full article in The Globe and Mail:
“Canada must demand fair investigation by France in case of Hassan Diab”, by Gerald Caplan, The Globe and Mail, November 9, 2015

With the one-year anniversary of his pretrial detention approaching, Dr. Hassan Diab remains in prison in the vicinity of Paris. He has been in detention for one year, since the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear his case on November 13, 2014, and he was extradited to France the following day.

“Ottawa academic Hassan Diab remains in a Paris jail preparing for a major court challenge that could prove key to his efforts to have murder charges against him withdrawn…

French authorities are still investigating his alleged role in the bombing and have not yet decided whether to commit him for trial…

Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger ordered Diab’s extradition in 2011 after saying that he found the handwriting evidence ‘illogical, very problematic, convoluted, very confusing with conclusions that are suspect…’”

Read the full article in the Ottawa Citizen:
“One year after extradition to France, Ottawa academic still pushes for freedom”, by Chris Cobb, Ottawa Citizen, November 9, 2015

On November 14, 2014, Dr. Hassan Diab was extradited from Canada to France, torn from his family and community, and incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. Hassan was not in France at the time of the 1980 rue Copernic bombing. He is not an anti-Semite, and he strongly condemns all forms of bigotry and violence. His palm prints and fingerprints do not match those of the suspect. Yet he can expect to remain in prison for up to two years while the examining magistrate decides whether to bring him to trial.

Join the Bring Hassan Home Campaign by signing the following statement.

“Dr. Hassan Diab was extradited from Canada to France based on a handwriting analysis report that the Canadian extradition judge described as “convoluted, very confusing, with conclusions that are suspect”. Hassan is now incarcerated in a French prison where he may remain for two or more years while the French authorities decide whether to bring him to trial. I am deeply concerned that Hassan may be wrongfully convicted under France’s anti-terrorism laws, based on deeply flawed handwriting analysis and the use of secret, unsourced intelligence. Hassan must receive a fair process, so he has a real chance to fight for justice and return to his home in Canada. We must make sure that the real perpetrators of the rue Copernic crime are brought to justice. Making an innocent man pay for a crime he did not commit will only further the tragedy.”

To sign the above statement, please fill out the form at:
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/bring-hassan-home

If you would like to make a donation to Hassan’s legal defence in France, please visit the following page and make a donation (any amount is appreciated and can make a difference!):
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/donate

Your ongoing support is vital to protect Hassan’s rights, to give Hassan a real chance to regain his freedom, and to bring him back to his home in Canada.

Hassan extends his deepest gratitude to his supporters for their steadfast support. It means so much to him and his family to know that supporters like you are still pulling for him.

It is dark; it is night
I lay awake waiting
For the nightmare to end
It is light; it is day
The nightmare is still there
Always there; at all times
I eat; I read; I sleep and
The nightmare is my companion
It never leaves me
I beg; I plead, but it never goes away
Sometimes I see light glimpses of my old life
So much has changed; so much has been lost
I wonder how and why
I wonder when the truth will shine
I wonder when I will be free

Article by Tyler Levitan
Published by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed
May 22, 2015

“Not only do Diab’s fingerprints not match those found on a rental car, nor on a French police shoplifting report on the suspected bomber, nor on the suspect’s hotel registration card, but the evidence presented by the French authorities related to handwriting was even withdrawn on two occasions, after it was exposed that the comparison samples used did not belong to Diab.”

“In France, the handwriting analyses based on someone else’s writing were submitted to Diab’s April 3 bail hearing, despite having been withdrawn from the Canadian courts.”

“Diab is not anti-Semitic. On the contrary, he is, by all objective accounts, a man devoted to human rights and social justice, opposing all forms of racism.”

“It is incumbent on civil society, both in Europe and North America, to continue to pressure our governments to demand the immediate release of Diab, who has been the victim of faulty evidence, and could become the victim of a wrongful conviction – unless we intervene in time.”

To read the full article:

http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2015/5/27/civil-society-must-prevent-hassan-diabs-wrongful-conviction

You are invited to attend the following presentation about Dr. Hassan Diab’s case at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Ottawa.

Dr. Diab’s extradition and the cynical legal proceedings that led to it starkly reveal the racialized limits of citizenship and Charter rights in Canada.

This event is free and open to the general public. No registration is necessary.

For more information: http://congress2015.ca/program/events/case-hassan-diab-racism-extradition-law-and-citizenship-canada

Independent Jewish Voices – Canada (IJV Canada) is outraged by the extradition of fellow citizen and human rights advocate, Dr. Hassan Diab, and is demanding for his release from French custody. Dr. Diab has been wrongfully accused of playing a role in the 1980 Paris synagogue bombing.

The evidence levelled against Dr. Diab is “confusing,” “weak,” and “suspect” according to the Canadian extradition judge. His fingerprints do not match those of the suspect, and the evidence brought forth by the French authorities on this matter was even withdrawn, after several internationally-renowned hand-writing experts testified that the handwriting analysis submitted by France is flawed and unreliable.

It is disturbing that Canada has permitted the extradition of a Canadian citizen on very unsuitable grounds, and without providing him with a fair trial under due process of the law. The intelligence evidence being used against Dr. Diab has not been made available to his defence, and it was likely obtained under torture. France does not extradite its own citizens, yet Canada has extradited Dr. Diab without a shred of credible evidence being presented against him.

IJV Canada is very concerned that Dr. Diab will not be granted a fair trial in France. It appears that France’s anti-terrorism laws and use of secret evidence will be used unjustly against Dr. Diab to push for a conviction.

We call on the government of France to abandon its case against Dr. Diab so that he can avoid being the victim of a wrongful conviction. Dr. Diab is being detained in a foreign state on charges for which he has no connection.

Alfred Dreyfus, a French-Jewish citizen, was wrongfully convicted of treason based on faulty evidence. In a climate of anti-Semitism, this blatant injustice was able to take place. Thankfully, strong public opposition within segments of French society pressured the government to re-open the case, which led to the acquittal of Dreyfus on all charges.

It is incumbent upon people and organizations of conscience in France to demand from their government that Dr. Diab be immediately granted his freedom. Much like Dreyfus, Dr. Diab is a victim of faulty evidence, which has led to an enormous injustice against him within today’s climate of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment.

IJV Canada calls upon the people and civil society organizations of France to join us and our allies in Canada, including Amnesty International Canada, the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, and the Canadian Association of University Teachers, to demand from the French government that the case against Dr. Diab be withdrawn, and allow him to return home to his family and friends.

April 2015

For more information contact: Tyler Levitan, Campaigns Coordinator for Independent Jewish Voices – Canada, tyler@ijvcanada.org

“A Canadian in Paris: Hassan Diab’s Indefinite Jail Journey”
Article by Matthew Behrens in Rabble.ca

“[Hassan] Diab now sits in a cell in the largest prison in Europe for 20 hours a day. This is directly due to the fact that in 2011, Ontario Court judge Robert Maranger upheld the extradition order, despite his conclusion that the case against Diab was ‘weak,’ ‘suspect,’ and ‘confusing,’ concluding ‘the case presented by the Republic of France against Mr. Diab is a weak case; the prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial, seem unlikely’…

His supporters fear that he will not receive a fair trial in France’s much-criticized anti-terrorism courts. Indeed, Human Rights Watch noted that French ‘decisions to arrest suspects and place them under formal investigation are based on a low standard of proof’…”

Read the full article:
http://rabble.ca/columnists/2015/02/canadian-paris-hassan-diabs-indefinite-jail-journey

Guest Speakers :
•   Jamie Nelson (Wrongfully Convicted)
•   Don Bayne (Lawyer Representing Hassan Diab)
•   Peter Gose (Hassan Diab Support Committee)

Sponsored By: Department of Law & Legal Studies Criminalization and Punishment Education Project (CPEP)

ADMISSION IS FREE (Donations are welcome for the Wrongful Convictions and Injustice Association of Carleton)

Whisked away from Ottawa before dawn with no chance to say farewell to his pregnant wife and 2-year old daughter, Dr. Hassan Diab remains in detention in the Paris vicinity. A French investigating magistrate placed Dr. Diab under judicial investigation (mis en examen) upon Hassan’s arrival in France. Dr. Diab can expect to be held in detention for nearly 2 years while waiting for the magistrate to conclude his investigation and decide whether or not to put him on trial.

Upon learning of the Canadian Supreme Court’s decision not to hear Hassan’s final appeal, Diab’s lawyer Donald Bayne, said “We now have the classic recipe for the wrongful conviction of a Canadian citizen.”

Speaking of the unexpected swiftness with which Canada removed Dr. Diab, supporter Donald Pratt said, “This action by the Canadian government is inhumane to the point of cruel and unusual. This is not about Canada’s authority to do what it has done. This is about failing to respect standards of human decency.”

Hassan was extradited based on a discredited handwriting analysis report that was described by the Canadian extradition judge as “convoluted, very confusing, with conclusions that are suspect.” Extradition legal expert Dr. Gary Botting asked “How can you give any credence to anything that’s one sentence long and hang a guy with it?”

Jacqueline Hodgson, a law professor at the University of Warwick, said: “The case of Hassan Diab, a 60-year-old sociology professor who has been extradited to France, is a troubling one… The evidence against him hinges firstly on unsourced intelligence that would be inadmissible in a criminal court in England and Wales (reliability cannot be tested if the source of information and the manner in which it was obtained are unknown); and secondly on the opinion of a handwriting expert described as wholly unreliable by five of the world’s leading handwriting analysts.”

Hassan Diab is represented by French lawyer Stéphane Bonifassi. Speaking to the Canadian press, Mr. Bonifassi said, “Hassan is in good spirits and I would say in combative spirits. We will fight the accusations, and hopefully the fact that there is no evidence against my client will prevail and he will be set free.”

Hassan Diab Support Committee
diabsupport@gmail.com