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Please take the time to send a brief letter to the Editor in support of Hassan Diab.
On Wednesday May 25, Hassan Diab's lawyer asked the extradition judge to take into account a recent ruling by the Ontario Court of appeal, and allow the introduction of additional handwriting reports to demonstrate (once again!) the total unreliability of France's handwriting evidence. Several French handwriting experts are willing to testify that the methodology and conclusions of the handwriting evidence are totally flawed.
Read Ottawa Citizen coverage of Wednesday's hearing.
This morning, the judge denied the lawyer’s request. A decision on whether to "commit" Hassan for extradition (basically, the first step in shipping Hassan overseas, which involves imprisonment) will be issued on June 6th.
Read Ottawa Citizen coverage of today’s decision
Please write letters to the Editor expressing your concern about the extradition process and your support for Hassan Diab.
In your letters, you can raise one or more of the following points:
- As Hassan's case shows, the standard of evidence for extraditing Canadian citizens does not come near to meeting standards for a fair trial.
- It is very alarming that Hassan's extradition may be allowed to proceed SOLELY on the basis of handwriting analysis that the judge himself has said is “very problematic, very confusing, and with conclusions that are suspect".
It is unacceptable that France based its original extradition request on completely unsourced and secret intelligence that may be the product of torture.
- It is unacceptable that France has withheld information favourable to Hassan from the judge, such as the fact that Hassan’s palm prints and fingerprints do not match those of the suspect.
- Letters must be very short (100 words or less); include name, postal address and daytime phone number of the writer; state "Letter to the Editor" in the Subject line; and content should be in the body of the email (i.e. do not send as an attachment).
Email addresses are provided below:
Globe and Mail: letters@globeandmail.com
National Post: letters@nationalpost.com
Ottawa Citizen: letters@thecitizen.canwest.com
Ottawa Sun: ottsun.oped@sunmedia.ca
Hill Times (Federal Parliament): news@hilltimes.com
Thanks for your continued support.
Hassan Diab Support Committee
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
diabsupport@gmail.com
We urge you to take a stand for the principles of fundamental justice and for the presumption of innocence in the case of Dr. Hassan Diab by signing the petition at:
http://stopextradition.diabpetition.org/
As you may recall, Dr. Diab is a Canadian citizen and sociology professor who lives in Ottawa. He is fighting extradition to France where he is accused of involvement in a bombing near a Paris synagogue in 1980. The allegations are based on deeply flawed handwriting analysis and secret "intelligence" that has not been disclosed to Hassan's defence or the Canadian judge.
On June 6, 2011, a decision is expected regarding whether Dr. Diab will be committed for extradition. If committed, a judge will decide whether Hassan remains on bail or is put in jail while he appeals his extradition in the Canadian courts, a process that could take several years.
We urge you add your name to the petition asking the judge to renew Hassan’s bail while he is appealing his extradition.
Since his release from detention on April 1st, 2009, Hassan has dutifully abided by all the terms of his bail, and has not committed a single infraction.
This petition is not a declaration of guilt or innocence. Rather, it is an attempt to uphold the principle of innocent until proven otherwise, and the right for Hassan to be free on bail while defending himself in the courts.
Finally, please help us spread the word by sharing this appeal and the petition widely.
Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this urgent matter.
Hassan Diab Support Committee
diabsupport@gmail.com
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
Join us for an event in Toronto highlighting the injustices in Canada's extradition law.
Kafka in the Court: Hassan Diab v. Canada's Unjust Extradition Law
Where: Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street, Toronto
When: Thursday, May 19, 7:15 PM
SPEAKERS
- Rania Tfaily, sociology professor, Carleton University; wife of Hassan Diab
- Jessica Orkin, criminal justice lawyer, with an emphasis on constitutional law and human rights; appears before the Supreme Court
- Matthew Behrens, Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada
SPONSORED BY
- Toronto Action for Social Change
- Christian Peacemaker Teams
- Canadian Arab Federation
For further information about this event, contact: tasc@web.ca
Hassan Diab is a Canadian facing unjust extradition proceedings – which could see him forcibly removed to France - based on deeply flawed “evidence”. He has always maintained his innocence and condemns all ethnically and religiously motivated violence. Canada’s unfair Extradition Law allows Canadians to be shipped to foreign countries based on flimsy, unreliable evidence not accepted in domestic Canadian trials.
In Hassan's case, Canadian Extradition Law has:
- Allowed deeply flawed handwriting analysis as evidence, despite the Canadian judge finding it "very problematic, very confusing, and with conclusions that are suspect".
- Allowed the authorities to proceed despite the fact that Hassan's physical description and his finger and palm prints do not match those of the suspect.
- Allowed the case to go forward despite numerous serious contradictions and misrepresentations, and despite reliance on secret intelligence in the Record of the Case.
We all have a stake in supporting Hassan in his pursuit of justice. Canada’s shockingly low standard for extraditing its citizens is a threat to the principles of fairness and fundamental justice, and could be used against any of us.
For more information about Hassan's case, read the article on rabble.ca: http://rabble.ca/news/2010/11/ottawa-professor-fights-extradition-1980-bomb-attack-france
For additional information, visit: http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
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