16 January 2018, Ottawa — Dr. Hassan Diab arrived in Canada and was reunited yesterday with his family in Ottawa. On January 12, two French investigative judges had dismissed the case against Diab and ordered his immediate and unconditional release, including the right to return to Canada. Hassan Diab, Don Bayne (Diab’s lawyer in Canada), Alex Neve (Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada), and the Hassan Diab support committee plan to hold a press conference on Wednesday, January 17.
What: Press conference following the release of Diab and his return to Canada
Where: Office of Amnesty International Canada, 312 Laurier Ave East, Ottawa
When: Wednesday, January 17, 2018, 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Photos: Warm welcome for Hassan Diab at Ottawa airport
For More Information:
Roger Clark, Hassan Diab Support Committee, (613) 355-2623, diabsupport@gmail.com; http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
Jacob Kuehn, Media Relations, Amnesty International Canada; jkuehn@amnesty.ca / 613 744 7667 x 236
Background:
On January 12, 2018, Judges Jean-Marc Herbaut and Richard Foltzer (“Juges d’instruction anti-terroristes”) dismissed the allegations against Dr. Hassan Diab and ordered his immediate and unconditional release from detention. An overwhelming body of evidence shows Dr. Diab cannot have been in France in 1980 when the attack was perpetrated, as many elements confirm he was in Beirut during that period of time. The decision also notably underlines the numerous contradictions and misstatements contained in the intelligence which cast serious doubts about their reliability, as well as the fact that Dr. Diab’s handwriting, fingerprints, palm prints, physical description, and age do not match those of the suspect identified in 1980.
Dr. Diab’s lawyers in France, William Bourdon, Apolline Cagnat, and Amélie Lefebvre, stated that “This decision in such a serious terrorism case is exceptional. It must remind us that the acknowledgement of a suspect’s innocence in a terrorism case is always a long road but can be obtained with relentless work. The decision is founded on the demonstration of the impossibility to attribute to Hassan Diab any responsibility in the attack, as we have not ceased to claim. The respect owed to the victims and their legitimate need for justice must not be confused with the prosecutor’s obstinacy whose potential appeal would be completely contrary to the law and facts.”
Don Bayne, Dr. Diab’s lawyer in Canada, remarked, “We’re elated, relieved and thankful. Thankful to the French judges for their wisdom and courage to buck political and social pressure to make a completely just decision, something that we believe the courts in Canada failed to do at every level. Thankful that Dr. Diab’s wife, Rania Tfaily, led the fight for justice with such dignity and perseverance. Thankful to Minister Freeland, Sam Moyer, Maria Lamani, and others at Global Affairs Canada for their genuine and impressive support to a Canadian who never should have been extradited. And thankful for the efforts of the wonderful Canadians who make up the Hassan Diab Support Committee. We would add this: now is the time for the Justice Minister, indeed the Prime Minister, to order a complete review of the Extradition Act and procedures that led to years of injustice for an innocent Canadian. How could Canada have extradited a Canadian to France when France never, never had a case against Dr. Diab fit to go to trial? How? Because of Canada’s Extradition Act, of the procedures it enables to strip Canadians of liberty unjustly. This Canadian was extradited on overwhelmingly unreliable evidence yet every Canadian court allowed this to happen. So while we are thankful and relieved that justice has been served, we must ensure the system is corrected so that no other Canadian experiences what Dr. Diab has.”
