A former Carleton professor is facing extradition to France after an Ontario court of appeal alleged there is enough evidence to make him a suspect in a decades old bombing case, according to a May 15 Ontario Court of Appeal decision.
The RCMP first arrested Hassan Diab in 2008 based on French intelligence that alleged he was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and responsible for a 1980 bombing that killed four people and wounded 42.
Diab has denied the allegations during the past five-and-a-half years of extradition requests and appeals.
In the most recent decision, the court upheld an earlier ruling that would see Diab face terrorism allegations in French courts.
“Such a decision means that any Canadian citizen can be detained, uprooted and extradited based on deeply flawed evidence that a foreign state submits,” Diab said in a statement released on the website Justice for Hassan Diab.
“I have always opposed antisemitism, discrimination and violence. Despite this setback, I am determined to continue my fight for justice and freedom,” it said.
Diab’s lawyer has promised to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, according to the statement.
Diab was hired by Carleton in 2009 to teach an introductory summer course in sociology, but his contract was quickly terminated after complaints around the terrorism allegations surfaced.
While the dismissal was controversial and challenged by the Canadian Association of University Teachers, Carleton released a statement in July 2009 that said the decision was made “in the interest of providing its students with a stable, productive academic environment that is conducive to learning.”
