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“Recipe for a wrongful conviction: The extradition of an innocent man – Hassan Diab”
Don't miss a preview of the short documentary on Dr. Hassan Diab, “Rubber Stamped: The Hassan Diab Story”.
What: Preview of “Rubber Stamped: The Hassan Diab Story”, a short documentary on Dr. Hassan Diab Trailer
Place: Beit Zatoun Cultural Centre, 612 Markham Street, Toronto Map
Date: Friday, September 30, 2016
Time: 7:00 pm (Doors open at 6.45 pm)
Admission: Free
Guest Speakers:
- Amar Wala, award-winning filmmaker and director of “Rubber Stamped: The Hassan Diab Story”
- Barbara Jackman, renowned human rights lawyer
Please come out, watch the short documentary, and hear our guest speakers talk about Canada's Extradition Law and its unjust consequences for Hassan. Q&A will follow.
There will be refreshments, plenty of yummy finger foods, music, raffle items, and more!
The venue is accessible on demand via portable ramp; washrooms are not accessible.
Sponsored by: - Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT)
- Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA)
- Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 1281
- Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice (CUSJ)
- Independent Jewish Voices Canada
- Independent Jewish Voices - Toronto
- Peace and Social Concerns – Ottawa Quakers
- Toronto Action for Social Change (TASC)
- United Jewish People's Order (UJPO)
Please distribute widely!
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Hassan Diab is a Canadian citizen and Carleton University professor who lived in Ottawa. He was extradited to France on November 14, 2014, in connection with the 1980 Rue Copernic bombing in Paris.
The Canadian extradition judge described the evidence that the French authorities submitted as “very problematic” and “suspect”, and 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 has strongly condemned the attack and steadfastly maintained his innocence. He has been in prison near Paris for almost two years.
Mr. Don Bayne, Hassan’s lawyer in Canada, has stated: “We now have the classic recipe for the wrongful conviction of a Canadian citizen”.
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Some links of interest:
“Jewish Law and Our Most Cherished Traditions Require Justice for Hassan Diab”, by: David Mivasair, July 5, 2016
“Canada must demand fair investigation by France in case of Hassan Diab”, by Gerald Caplan, Globe and Mail, November 9, 2015
“Civil society must prevent Hassan Diab's wrongful conviction”, by Tyler Levitan, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, May 27, 2015
“Canada's extradition law: A legal conundrum”, by Chris Cobb, Ottawa Citizen, November 14, 2014
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Hassan Diab Support Committee
Email: diabsupport@gmail.com
Web: http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
Facebook | Twitter
To get a window into Hassan’s life in prison in France, we are posting excerpts from his letters from prison to his family in Canada.
To read the “Hassan Diab Prison Diary” blog, visit:
http://hassandiabprisondiary.blogspot.com
Don't miss a sneak preview of the short documentary on Dr. Hassan Diab, directed by award-winning filmmaker Amar Wala.
Please come out, watch the short documentary, and hear the latest updates from Hassan’s lawyer in Canada, Mr. Donald Bayne. There will be plenty of time for Q&A.
Date: Friday, May 20, 2016
Time: 7:00 pm (Doors open at 6:45 pm)
Place: First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa, 30 Cleary Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario (off Richmond Road, one traffic light East of Woodroffe Avenue)
Getting there: Take Bus #2 Map
Program includes:
- 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
- - - - - - - - -
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.
Dear supporters,
For the past year, Dr. Hassan Diab has been detained in the largest prison in Europe and denied bail, even though no decision has been made about whether (or not) to refer his case to trial. Under French law, Hassan can be detained for years as the case is investigated. In many ways, his case is a set-up for wrongful conviction based on allegations — not facts — that a Canadian judge admitted would never stand up in a Canadian court of law.
A new documentary is being made about Hassan’s case. Several interviews have already been filmed and more will follow. The plan is to use interviews and other information to put the documentary together — a process that takes several weeks of work. In the meantime, we have a short teaser based on excerpts from interviews with Dr. Rania Tfaily (Hassan’s wife) and Don Bayne (Hassan’s Canadian lawyer). To see the teaser, please visit:
http://igg.me/at/diab-doc-2015
We are about three quarters of the way towards our goal of raising $15,000 to cover the cost of the documentary. Please consider contributing to our Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to help us publicize Hassan’s case and prevent his wrongful conviction.
To donate, please visit: http://igg.me/at/diab-doc-2015 and click on the “CONTRIBUTE NOW” button (you have the option to donate anonymously). Any amount — no matter how small — helps. Donations in excess of $15,000 will go towards Hassan’s legal defence.
A big Thank You to everyone who has donated already.
Please share the above page with your friends and networks.
Thank you.
The Nightmare (by Hassan Diab)
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 slight 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
Hassan Diab Support Committee
Web: http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
Email: diabsupport@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/friendsofhassandiab
Twitter: http://twitter.com/friendsofhdiab
Blog: http://friendsofhassandiab.blogspot.com
Friends,
Imagine you are arrested in Canada, detained, and extradited to France even though your physical description, finger and palm prints, and handwriting do not match the suspect in a decades-old bombing in Paris. That is the nightmare being lived by Dr. Hassan Diab, a Canadian citizen from Ottawa, and his family.
For the past year, Dr. Diab has been detained in the largest prison in Europe and still has not been charged. Under French law, he can be kept significantly longer as the case is investigated. In many ways, this case is a set-up for wrongful conviction based on allegations (not facts) that Canadian judges admitted would never stand up in a Canadian court of law.
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 secret intelligence against him.
I have the pleasure of knowing Dr. Diab and his family, and believe him to be both the victim of mistaken identity as well as racial profiling in the so-called war on terror.
While friends and family continue to fight for his freedom, a new film is being made on his case. The goal is to raise $15,000 by December 20, and the campaign is already halfway there. Please donate to the film's crowdfunding campaign and share the page with your friends and networks:
http://igg.me/at/diab-doc-2015
The film will not only help expose the injustice of Hassan Diab's situation, but also wake up Canadians to the dangers that are continually posed by C-51 and the state security agencies who use such legislation to harass, intimidate, and repress targeted communities at home and abroad.
Please donate whatever you can and help end this injustice and reunite this family.
Peace,
Matthew Behrens
Homes not Bombs
http://www.homesnotbombs.ca
Matthew Behrens is a freelance writer and social justice advocate who coordinates the Homes not Bombs non-violent direct action network.
Dear all,
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:
http://igg.me/at/diab-doc-2015
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.
Thank you.
Hassan Diab Support Committee
Web: http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
Email: diabsupport@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/friendsofhassandiab
Twitter: http://twitter.com/friendsofhdiab
Blog: http://friendsofhassandiab.blogspot.com
Dear all,
It has been one year since Hassan was extradited to France based on discredited “evidence” that the Canadian judge himself described as “very problematic” and “suspect”. Hassan is still under investigation in France. He sits alone in a jail cell thousands of miles away from his family, friends and home. Hassan’s applications for bail with house arrest and electronic monitoring have been repeatedly denied. The unsourced intelligence and the discredited handwriting analysis reports that France withdrew from the Canadian proceeding because of their unreliability are now being used against Hassan in France.
We are working on publicizing Hassan’s case nationally and internationally by producing a good quality documentary about the case for online sharing and public showings. We will be launching a crowdfunding campaign on November 12, 2015, to fundraise for this documentary.
Please consider making a donation – no matter how small - to the crowdfunding campaign. We also ask that you write to your friends and family about the campaign and share the link to the campaign with them (we will send the link in the next couple of days). We aim to raise $15,000 to cover the expenses of making the documentary. Donations in excess of this amount will go to cover Hassan’s legal defense fees.
Thank you for your continued support!
Hassan Diab Support Committee
Web: http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
Email: diabsupport@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/friendsofhassandiab
Twitter: http://twitter.com/friendsofhdiab
Blog: http://friendsofhassandiab.blogspot.com
“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.
France must drop this case against Diab and continue pursuing the actual perpetrators of this horrific crime, so that the victims can receive their overdue justice. Canada must demand the return home of a citizen, father, husband, teacher and friend, who is awaiting justice after what he describes as a ‘Kafkaesque nightmare’.”
Read the full article:
Civil society must prevent Hassan Diab's wrongful conviction, By Tyler Levitan, Al-Arab Al-Jadeed, 22 May, 2015
The French Embassy in Ottawa, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, and the manager of the synagogue on Rue Copernic have implied that the upholding of the extradition order against Dr. Hassan Diab does not assume his culpability and that Diab will be able to defend himself before France’s judicial system, which they say is as impartial as Canada’s.
If the French judicial system is impartial and just, and Dr. Diab is presumed innocent until proven guilty:
- Why did they whisk him off within 20 hours on the eve of his daughter's second birthday without the decency of letting him say goodbye to her and his expecting wife?
- Why did a Canadian judge say in a Canadian court that the evidence against him was convoluted, weak, very confusing and with conclusions that are suspect and likely wouldn't stand up in a Canadian court?
- Why does Human Rights Watch note that in France “decisions to arrest suspects and place them under formal investigation are based on a low standard of proof”, and lawyers complain “that the way in which judicial investigations in terrorism cases are conducted seriously undermines the right of each defendant to an effective defense”? Human Rights Watch also notes that “the prominent use of intelligence material in judicial investigations, in the context of the close links between judges and the intelligence services, raises concerns about procedural fairness and reliance on evidence obtained from third countries where torture and ill-treatment are routine”.
- Why did the Canadian Department of Justice, acting on behalf of France, withdraw French intelligence evidence because it came from sources even the French couldn't identify and couldn't provide assurances it wasn't produced under torture, an unacceptable risk noted by Amnesty International in its formal intervention in Dr. Diab's extradition hearing?
- How is it that the French judicial system can jail someone who is said to be “innocent until proven guilty” for up to 2 or more years (mis en examen) before deciding if they'll even hold a trial? Other jurisdictions do not permit such lengthy delays which effectively violate habeas corpus norms.
- Why couldn't Dr. Diab's lawyers present RCMP finger and palm print evidence that proves French prints are not those of Dr. Diab?
- Why did the French conclude that the handwriting of someone else, not Dr. Diab, was the same as that of the bomber's 5 block printed words on a hotel registration card, withdraw that “evidence” when this incompetence was identified, and submit a new handwriting analysis that was judged fundamentally flawed by at least three international handwriting experts?
- How was a “robot” sketch of a 40-ish moustached bomber confused with the 26 year old (at the time) Dr. Diab?
- Why did Canadian authorities and judges allow an extradition, which under Canadian law can only be to face charges, when Dr. Diab had not yet been charged?
That doesn't sound impartial or just or fair to me.
Bob Thomson
Ottawa
British Columbia lawyer and author Garry Botting, one of Canada’s foremost authorities on extradition, commented on Hassan's extradition case:
“There has rarely been a case that is so clearly unfair,” he said. “We are constantly bending over backwards to accommodate whatever international request is made. It’s not a question of ‘will we?’ but how high would you like us to jump to accommodate you.”
Diab’s case was the first solid opportunity since Ferras in 2006 to “really make a difference and bring common sense and fairness to bear in extradition cases. Right now it is not fair, not just and has precious little common sense.”
“Canadians get the short end of the stick every time,” he added. “Their own government has sold them down the river.”
“If the person signing in was the bomber he is going to be nervous. His handwriting won’t be reflected properly and likely he’s trying to disguise it. How can you give any credence to anything that’s one sentence long and hang a guy with it?”
Read the full Ottawa Citizen article, dated November 14, 2014:
Canada's extradition law: A legal conundrum
Dr. Hassan Diab’s case should be a wake up call for all Canadians. That’s because, under Canada’s extradition law, any of us could be in Hassan’s shoes. In the name of extradition, our Charter rights may be sacrificed in the interest of maintaining chummy diplomatic relations with countries seeking extradition.
Let’s look at Hassan’s case. Hassan’s fingerprints do not match those of the suspect. His palm prints do not match those of the suspect. His physical appearance does not match that of the suspect. His handwriting does not match that of the suspect, as affirmed by world-renowned handwriting experts.
The judge who committed Hassan to extradition described the handwriting analysis against Hassan as “very problematic”, “convoluted”, “very confusing”, and “with conclusions that are suspect”. The judge also wrote:
“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. However, it matters not that I hold this view. The law is clear that in such circumstances a committal order is mandated.”
Since this is an extradition case, the judge did not apply Canadian standards of evidence. This is the state of Canada’s extradition law, and this is the situation under which Hassan faces potential life imprisonment in France under the unfair trial practices that have been documented by Human Rights Watch.
We are all too familiar with cases of wrongful convictions. We remember the wrongful conviction cases in Canada that involved the disgraced pathologist Charles Smith. We are also well aware of the negative impact of false allegations in the cases of Steven Truscott, Donald Marshall, and Maher Arar, to name a few. Hassan’s is clearly a case of wrongful extradition that does not even allow Canadian standards of evidence.
Hassan’s case is also reminiscent of the Dreyfus affair in 19th Century France where Alfred Dreyfus, a French army officer, was sentenced to life in prison based on unsourced intelligence and flawed handwriting analysis. Dreyfus received two trials and was twice wrongly convicted, before he was finally exonerated. Hassan is Canada’s Dreyfus.
In the end, this really has nothing to do with the law, and everything to do with politics and fear. Today it is Hassan. Tomorrow it could be any one of us. We are all Hassan Diab.
Hassan Diab Support Committee
diabsupport@gmail.com
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
“My life has been turned upside down because of unfounded allegations and suspicions.
I am innocent of the accusations against me. I have never engaged in terrorism.
I am not an anti-Semite. I have always been opposed to bigotry and violence.”
Dr. Hassan Diab, Ottawa, Canada
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