Dr. Hassan Diab is a Canadian sociology professor. His academic career was interrupted about a decade ago when he was falsely accused of an attack near a synagogue in Paris, France in 1980. In 2008, France requested Dr. Diab’s extradition from Canada. Canadian authorities then imprisoned him, subject to Draconian bale conditions, for six years.
Dr. Diab was extradited to France in 2014. His extradition occurred at the hands of a Canadian judge, Robert Maranger, who described the evidence against Dr. Diab as “illogical,” “very problematic,” and “convoluted and confusing with conclusions that are suspect.” The judge concluded that the prospects for conviction seemed unlikely, but that his hands were tied by Canada’s extradition law. He therefore committed Dr. Diab to extradition.
Under Canada’s extradition law, Canada’s Justice Minister nonetheless had discretion not to surrender Dr. Diab to French authorities. That minister was conservative Rob Nicholson. Upon reading Justice Maranger’s concerns, Nicholson could have chosen not to extradite Dr. Diab, but did so anyways.
After being extradited to France, Dr. Diab spent three years and two months in France’s largest prison. He was ordered released on bail eight times by four different French judges. However, each time, the prosecutor blocked his release. On January 12, 2018, only days ago, two French anti-terrorism judges cleared him and ordered his immediate and unconditional release. Dr. Diab has finally been reunited with his family in Canada, including his son who was born after his extradition.
For The Real News Network, I spoke to Dr. Diab about his decade-long ordeal and about the individuals and organizations who had a hand in that ordeal – former Conservative Justice Minister Rob Nicholson and B’nai Brith Canada. My interview of Dr. Diab can be seen here:
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=20984.
Dear Dimitri, As you may know, I am a follower of yours and admire the many principled stands you take on various issues. I’ve also attended one of your lectures in Ottawa. I have been very disturbed, to say the least, about what had happened to Dr. Diab. I signed all kinds of petitions etc. but don’t feel I have done enough. I certainly feel that judges and politicians should be held responsible for this egregious and horrible injustice—it is unimaginable that anyone in Canada would facilitate his extradition. And I do think that at least Rob Nichols should be brought to task about this—his not intervening, in my opinion, is criminal. The distortions of Bnai Brith against innocent people cannot go unchallenged when the “country” whose interests they are propagating commits every crime imaginable.
What I would like to know is if there is anything you suggest I could do for this terrible injustice be accounted for and exposed, I would appreciate any suggestions.
Sincere regards, Marina Kun
Marina Kun
President
The Kun Shoulder Rest
200 MacLaren Street
Ottawa, ON, K2P 0L6
Tel: 613-232-1861 Fax: 613-232-9771
Toll Free: 888-755-9514
http://www.kunrest.com
Marina, thank you for your concerns, which are entirely justified. I believe that the best contribution you can make is to contact your local MP and request a meeting for the purpose of highlighting to your MP this travesty of justice and requesting that Canada’s extradition law be amended to prevent this sort of injustice from happening again. Peace and solidarity, Dimitri