OTTAWA — Supporters of Hassan Diab are calling on Canada to refuse any new extradition request from France after a court found the Ottawa sociology professor guilty of a 1980 bombing.
Diab, who has always maintained innocence, was tried in absentia in Paris for the attack on a synagogue that killed four and wounded 46.
A French court sentenced Diab to life in prison Friday and issued an arrest warrant for him.
Diab, 69, called the outcome incredible and Kafkaesque. "We hoped that reason would prevail."
It is the latest twist in a long-running case that has spurred demands in Canada to reform extradition laws.
Born in Lebanon, Diab became a Canadian citizen in 1993, working in Ottawa as a university teacher.
The RCMP arrested him in November 2008 in response to a request by France.
Following lengthy proceedings that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, Diab was extradited to France where he spent three years behind bars, including time in solitary confinement.
French judges dismissed the allegations against him in January 2018 and ordered his immediate release, allowing him to return to Ottawa where he lives with his wife and children.
In May 2021, a French court upheld a decision directing Diab to stand trial, a ruling his Canadian lawyer Donald Bayne called inexplicable.
Diab's supporters have long argued he was in Beirut writing university exams — not Paris — when the attack took place. They say fingerprint, palm print and handwriting evidence clears Diab of the crime.
They maintain the case against Diab was anchored in secret, unsourced intelligence that may be the product of torture.
"The evidence shows he's innocent and yet they've convicted him," Bayne said Friday alongside Diab at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights monument in downtown Ottawa.
"It's a political result. It's a wrongful conviction."
Bayne said the next step is to wait and see if France makes a second extradition request, a demand Canada could refuse.
The office of Justice Minister David Lametti said in a statement Friday it would review the French court's written decision when it is released.
"It is important that any case be treated with due process and fairness, respecting rights," the statement said.
"It would be inappropriate to speculate on any potential requests for extradition for Dr. Diab to France."
Extradition requests are confidential state-to-state communications, so Canada cannot comment on the existence of any request until it is made public by the courts, Lametti's office said.
Extradition requests are reviewed by Justice Department officials based on the Extradition Act, Canada's international obligations and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the statement added.
After Diab's 2018 return to Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said what he went through "never should have happened."
Following the news from Paris, Diab's support committee seized on those comments.
"The time is now for Canada to make the prime minister's commitment a reality," the committee said in a statement.
"Canada must make it absolutely clear that no second request for the extradition of Dr. Diab will be accepted. There must be no further miscarriage of justice!"
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2023. — With files from Cindy Tran and The Associated Press
Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press
