Outreach to Canadian Parliamentarians:
Actions You Can Take

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This message is a follow-up to our Campaign for Outreach to Canadian Parliamentarians.

The September 20 Federal election in Canada gives us a chance to let politicians know that Hassan Diab’s case is important to us. Here is a list of some ways to do that.

1) Suggested questions to ask parliamentarians and candidates. Read more

2) Interacting with door-to-door election canvassers. Read more

3) Personal meetings with parliamentarians and candidates. Read more

4) Attending all-candidates meetings. Read more

5) Using social media to connect with candidates regarding Hassan’s case. Read more

Please do what you can!

Thank you for your continued support!

Join Our Campaign of Outreach to Canadian Parliamentarians!

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The unjust decision on January 27, 2021, by the French Court of Appeal to send Dr. Hassan Diab to trial prolongs Hassan’s Kafkaesque nightmare. This was a shocking turn of events, not least because the Court of Appeal’s ruling was riddled with egregious misrepresentations, logical inconsistencies, and wild fabrications. Worse still, on May 19, 2021, France’s Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) upheld the Court of Appeal’s baseless ruling.

This flagrant miscarriage of justice is clearly political. We are appealing to the Canadian government to end Hassan’s persecution, ensure that Hassan will never face a second extradition, and suspend the Canada/France extradition treaty.

Please help us exert pressure on the Canadian government to end Hassan’s Kafkaesque nightmare and prevent his wrongful conviction!

Campaign of Outreach to Canadian Parliamentarians

The federal election taking place on 20 September, 2021, provides us with an excellent opportunity to increase political and public support for Dr. Hassan Diab. We also anticipate some or all of the following:

  • Announcement in France that a date has been set for Hassan to face trial
  • French demands for Hassan’s presence in France, including his extradition
  • Public discussion of Canada’s Extradition Act

We are launching a major campaign of outreach to Canadian parliamentarians. This election period opens new opportunities for meetings with MPs, Senators, and candidates. We are asking you to look for such opportunities over the coming weeks, making use of the following:

We are asking parliamentarians to commit to the following:

  1. Agree to help in whatever ways possible to end Hassan’s persecution;
  2. Work to ensure that Hassan will never face a second extradition; and
  3. Support the suspension of the Canada/France extradition treaty in light of the failure of the French justice system to protect Hassan’s fundamental rights.

Please continue to emphasise the failure of both Canada and France to protect Hassan from the very beginning, resulting in a horrendous miscarriage of justice and the scapegoating of an innocent man.

Let us know if you would be interested in having a member of the Hassan Diab Support Committee accompany you (virtually or otherwise) to any meeting you are successful in arranging. We would be happy to assist in any way we can.

Feel free to contact Roger Clark (erogclark@gmail.com) if you have any questions or need specific support. Let us know of any meetings that you are able to arrange, and remember to send us a brief summary of the outcome.

Thank you as always for all that you are doing to support Hassan. Let us know if you have any questions. In the meantime, we wish you a good summer and plenty of relaxation.

For more information, please email: Roger Clark at erogclark@gmail.com

Postcards in Support of Hassan Diab

Postcards supporting Dr. Hassan Diab and addressed to Prime Minister Trudeau are now available at Octopus Books in Ottawa.

Be sure to sign a postcard the next time you’re at Octopus Books. No postage is necessary to mail the postcard from Canada.

If you are not in Ottawa, you can order up to 5 postcards by sending an email to diabsupport@gmail.com with your postal mailing address, and we will gladly mail postcards to you.

You can see a photo of the postcard (front and back): here.

Send “Act Now Sir!” Video to PM Justin Trudeau

Michelle Weinroth has written and produced a deeply moving and powerful poem/video about Hassan’s case, asking PM Justin Trudeau to intervene and put an end to Hassan’s ordeal.

Please write to PM Trudeau (pm@pm.gc.ca) and send him the link to the poem/video:

“Act Now Sir!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-ARWZnqm3I

Excerpt from Poem by Michelle Weinroth, addressed to PM Trudeau:

Will you stand up
For a man so cheated?
So vilified and mistreated?
Repair this injustice, Sir!
There is time yet…
Though not much.
Use not excuses as your crutch.
We are at the eleventh hour.
Your moment is here and now
To act and use your power.
Let not indecision mock your name.
Lest history link you
to a scandal of the law.
For such an outrage
will stain your fame
Will dim your glow
and deal your reputation
a stinging blow.
Flex then your moral muscle
Not your forearm.
Show your French peers
the mettle that behooves
a country’s leader
To settle and redress
a matter so unjust
as that of Hassan Diab
A man so viciously
and so vilely wronged
So grievously betrayed
Act now, Sir, not tomorrow.
And put an end to this tale of sorrow.

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

Recent letters and statements by organisations in support of Dr. Hassan Diab

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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.”

Help Us Keep the Pressure On — Petition and Letter-Writing Campaign for Hassan Diab

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The unjust decision earlier this year by a French Court of Appeal to send Dr. Hassan Diab to trial prolongs a 13-year miscarriage of justice. The decision ignored overwhelming evidence of Hassan’s innocence, and engaged in contradictory reasoning and unfounded speculation. Even France’s own avocat général had asked the Cour de Cassation to quash the Court of Appeal decision due to its legal flaws. However, the Cour de Cassation upheld the Court of Appeal decision.

Hassan’s Kafkaesque nightmare highlights the human cost of unjust prosecution due to politics, aided and abetted by a Canadian extradition law deficient in human rights protections.

We need to exert pressure on the Canadian government to end Hassan Diab’s persecution and prevent a wrongful conviction!

We have an ongoing Parliamentary petition and letter-writing campaign. If you haven’t done so already, please to sign the petition below:

And please send a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. You may write your own letter, or send the online letter at:

Thanks to everyone who already signed the Parliamentary petition and sent a letter to PM Trudeau!

Newest Statements by Organisations Supporting Hassan Diab

The list of civil society and human rights organisations standing in solidarity with Hassan Diab continues to grow. Organisations are urging the Canadian government to intervene, end Hassan’s Kafkaesque nightmare of injustice, and refuse a potential second extradition request from France. The latest statements are from the Canadian Association of University Teachers, the Canadian Labour Congress, and the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control.

https://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/orgs-support-following-french-appeal-court-decision-20210127

Thank You for a Successful Fundraising Campaign!

Our campaign to raise CAD $37,000 (or 25,000 Euros) to help cover legal fees in France has concluded. Between January 27 and June 10, 2021, we received CAD $38,037 in donations, which exceeded our goal!

We extend our sincerest thanks and gratitude to all those who donated. THANK YOU for your generosity and support. It means a lot to Hassan and his family. We greatly appreciate your support!

Recent Articles and Interviews

Canada should suspend its extradition treaty with France over the persecution of Hassan Diab

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“On May 19 France’s top court upheld a lower court ruling ordering Diab to stand trial for a 1980 terrorist bombing in Paris. This is despite the fact that in 2018 the French court that originally oversaw Diab’s prosecution ordered him released and dismissed the proceeding for lack of evidence. And it’s despite the fact that even what slim and inadequate evidence existed back in 2018 has been debunked by both defence experts and the French lower court itself…

The prime minister [Justin Trudeau] recently claimed that Canada was “standing up” for Diab, as it would for other citizens targeted for unfair prosecution by foreign states; but it is not clear what is being done, and in any event, it appears it is not working…

Extradition relations between countries are meant to be built on a foundation of mutual respect and accommodation. In Canada-France extradition relations, the respect and accommodation appear to be one-sided; Canada has been eager to help France, but France has not been a good extradition partner. Suspending the extradition treaty would be a first step toward ending the persecution of Hassan Diab, and to improving an important but dysfunctional relationship.”

Read the full article by Professor Robert J. Currie:
“Canada should suspend its extradition treaty with France over the persecution of Hassan Diab”, by Robert J. Currie, June 3, 2021, rabble.ca

Politics Trumps Justice: In a shocking decision, France’s Court of Cassation upholds Court of Appeal decision ordering Dr. Diab to stand trial

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Today, in yet another shocking decision, France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, upheld the Court of Appeal decision (of January 27, 2021) ordering Dr. Hassan Diab to stand trial. As documented by Don Bayne, Hassan’s lawyer in Canada, the Court of Appeal misrepresented evidence, misstated facts, relied on discredited evidence, made up non-existent evidence, and engaged in contradictory reasoning and troubling analysis based on unfounded speculation.

France’s Advocate General had asked the Court of Cassation to reject the Court of Appeal decision due to its contradictory reasoning and failure to address important issues raised by the defense. Despite this recommendation and all the exonerating evidence, the Court of Cassation decided to allow the case to go to trial.

Don Bayne remarked that “the Court of Cassation decision is inexplicable – even the French Advocate General agreed that the Court of Appeal decision is defective and should be quashed. The travesty of justice continues despite clear evidence of Hassan’s innocence. This shows how political pressure trumps justice. We call upon Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to put an end to this miscarriage of justice.”

Tim McSorley, National Coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Group (a coalition of 45 Canadian civil society groups) stated, “With so many troubling issues in the French courts regarding Hassan Diab’s case, it is impossible to trust that he will receive a fair trial. What Canadians do have control over, though, is what happens in Canada. That is why we are calling on Prime Minister Trudeau today to state in the strongest possible terms to his French counterparts that the persecution of Hassan Diab must end.”

In this relentless cycle of injustice, it is vital that we exert every ounce of pressure on the Canadian government and demand that it intervene to rescue Dr. Diab from groundless persecution and wrongful conviction. He and his family have suffered long enough!

Please take a minute to sign the Parliamentary petition below:

Also please send a letter to PM Justin Trudeau by visiting:

Help Us Spread the Word on Social Media

Let’s raise our collective voices for justice and prevent Hassan Diab’s wrongful conviction. We encourage you to highlight on social media Hassan’s struggle by posting the following messages or writing your own.

Recent Articles

Thank you for your continued support!

Sign the Petition and Send a Message to PM Trudeau — Canada Must End Hassan Diab’s nightmare

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For over 12 years, Hassan Diab fought false allegations of his involvement in a crime he did not commit. It is time to put an end to this miscarriage of justice.

The Canadian government must intervene to rescue Dr. Diab from groundless persecution. He and his family have suffered long enough!

Please sign the Parliamentary petition calling upon the PM Justin Trudeau to give immediate assurances to Hassan Diab that Canada will not accept nor accede to a second request for his extradition, and will urge France to put an immediate end to this miscarriage of justice:

https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3400

Also, please send a letter to PM Justin Trudeau, by visiting:

https://iclmg.ca/diab-letter (English)
https://iclmg.ca/fr/lettre-diab (French)

Video of Press Conference on May 12, 2021

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At the press conference, speakers commented on the latest developments in Dr. Hassan Diab’s case and commented on the January 27, 2021, French Court of Appeal decision referring Hassan to trial. Speakers were:

  • Don Bayne, Hassan’s Canadian lawyer
  • Roger Clark, member of the Hassan Diab Support Committee
  • Ihsaan Gardee, Director of Programs and Communications, Amnesty International Canada
  • Tim McSorley (National Coordinator, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG)

In its decision, the Court of Appeal misrepresented evidence, misstated facts, relied on discredited evidence, made up non-existent evidence, and engaged in contradictory reasoning and troubling analysis based on unfounded speculation. Hassan’s lawyers in France have appealed to the Court of Cassation, the highest court in France. The hearing took place on May 12.

On May 19, the Court of Cassation will render its decision on whether to refer Hassan to trial, or have a new Court of Appeal look into his case.

Press Conference on Wednesday May 12, 2021, 10:00 am Eastern Time

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You are invited to an online press conference on Wednesday May 12, 2021, at 10:00 am Eastern Time, to hear about the latest developments in Dr. Hassan Diab’s case. On this day, France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, will hear an appeal from Hassan’s lawyers regarding the shocking and deeply troubling flaws in the January 27, 2021, French Court of Appeal’s decision.

What: Press conference reacting to the latest developments in Dr. Hassan Diab’s case
When: Wednesday 12 May, 2021, at 10:00 am Eastern Time

Speakers will include:

  • Don Bayne, Hassan’s Canadian lawyer
  • Roger Clark, member of the Hassan Diab Support Committee
  • Ihsaan Gardee, Director of Programs and Communications, Amnesty International Canada
  • Tim McSorley (National Coordinator, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG)

Amnesty International Canada will provide a livestream of the press conference. You can access the livestream directly through the Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/amnestycanada/videos

In its decision, the Court of Appeal misrepresented evidence, misstated facts, relied on discredited evidence, made up non-existent evidence, and engaged in contradictory reasoning and troubling analysis based on unfounded speculation.

Here’s a link to Don Bayne’s memos detailing the shocking flaws in the French Court of Appeal’s decision:

http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/bayne-memos-2021-05

Video

Michelle Weinroth has written and produced this deeply moving poem about Hassan’s case (Music: “Adora Vivos”):

“Act now, Sir, and put an end to this tale of sorrow”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DzKReAJtms

Background

Dr. Hassan Diab is a Canadian sociology professor whose life has been turned upside down by false allegations of involvement in a bombing in Paris in 1980. Dr. Diab was extradited from Canada to France in 2014 based on a deeply flawed handwriting analysis (the “Bisotti report”) of five words in block letters on a hotel registration card. Five of the world’s leading handwriting experts criticized the Bisotti report as totally unreliable.

For over three years, Hassan languished in solitary confinement in a French prison, without formal charges or trial. In January 2018, Hassan was released from prison following the decision of two French investigative judges (juges d’instruction). They found that there is consistent evidence that Hassan was in Lebanon taking exams at the time of the 1980 bombing, in addition to significant evidence (fingerprints and palm prints) exculpating Hassan. Soon after, Hassan returned to his family and home in Canada.

However, the French state prosecutor and civil parties were determined to keep the case going, rather than admit their wrongful pursuit of an innocent man. They filed an appeal against the investigative judges’ Order of Dismissal.

On January 27, 2021, a French Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the investigative judges and ordered Hassan to stand trial, even though evidence against him had been entirely discredited. According to the French newspaper Le Monde, the Court of Appeal decision is exceptional, because never before, in terrorism cases, had a Court of Appeal opposed the investigating judges.

Hassan’s French lawyers have appealed to the Court of Cassation, France’s highest court, which will hear their appeal on May 12, 2021. In the meantime, the French avocat général has asked the Court of Cassation to quash the Court of Appeal decision referring Hassan Diab to trial, because of contradictions in its reasoning and failure to address issues raised by the defence.

At the press conference on May 12, speakers will comment on the latest developments in Dr. Hassan Diab’s case and the shocking and deeply troubling flaws in the January 27, 2021, Court of Appeal decision.

The Canadian government must refuse a potential second request for Hassan’s extradition to France, and put an immediate end to this continuing miscarriage of justice.

Hassan Diab Support Committee
diabsupport@gmail.com

Hassan Diab’s French Lawyers Appeal to the Court of Cassation

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Thank you for your support following the shockingly unjust decision on 27 January 2021 by a French Court of Appeal to refer Dr. Hassan Diab to trial. This comes three years after French investigating judges found consistent evidence of Hassan’s innocence and dismissed the case in 2018.

According to the French newspaper Le Monde, the Court of Appeal’s decision is exceptional, because never before, in terrorism cases, had a Court of Appeal opposed the investigating judges. The decision flies in the face of overwhelming evidence of Hassan’s innocence and offers Hassan as an innocent scapegoat. Hassan’s French lawyers point to the immense political pressure being applied to keep the case alive.

Hassan’s French lawyers have appealed to the Court of Cassation, France’s highest court, which will hear the case on May 12, 2021.

Statements by Organisations Supporting Hassan Diab

The list of civil society and human rights organisations standing in solidarity with Hassan Diab continues to grow. Organisations are urging the Canadian government to intervene, end Hassan’s Kafkaesque nightmare of injustice, and refuse a potential second extradition request from France.

Statements from organisations can be found at:
https://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/orgs-support-following-french-appeal-court-decision-20210127

Please Write to PM Trudeau and Major Newspapers

Following the French Court of Appeal decision, numerous organizations and individuals have spoken out in support of Hassan (see links below).

We urge you to add your voice by writing to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging the Canadian government to refuse a potential second extradition request from France, and to put an immediate end to this continuing miscarriage of justice.

Your letter can be brief and from the heart. Please address your letter to:
        Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pm@pm.gc.ca

and copy the following politicians:
        chrystia.freeland@parl.gc.ca
        marc.garneau@parl.gc.ca
        David.Lametti@parl.gc.ca

Also, please share your correspondence with us at diabsupport@gmail.com

Also please consider submitting op-eds or letters to the editors of major newspapers voicing your concerns.

Many thanks to those who have already written. We greatly appreciate your support and invite you to keep urging the Canadian government to protect Hassan Diab.

Donate to Hassan Diab’s Legal Defence in France

Please consider making a donation to help cover the cost of Hassan’s ongoing legal defence in France. Your support is vital to protect Hassan’s rights and prevent his wrongful conviction. A donation of any amount is much appreciated and can make a difference.

So far, we have raised CAD $28,251 out of CAD $37,000 (or 25,000 Euros) to cover legal fees. 100% of all donations go towards paying for Hassan’s legal defence in France.

To donate, please visit: https://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/donate

Many thanks if you have already contributed. We greatly appreciate your generous support!

Recent Video and Articles

Thank you for your continued support!

Hassan Diab Support Committee