Carleton professor Hassan Diab will have to wait until next summer for a final court ruling on claims of his alleged involvement in a Paris terror attack from 1980.
The delayed ruling is a result of an Oct. 26 French Court of Appeal decision to appoint a new investigative judge to Diab’s case in light of new evidence.
Diab was arrested by the RCMP in November 2008 and was placed under strict bail conditions until he was extradited to France in 2014. He spent more than three years in French prison before the terrorism case against him fell apart.
The sociology professor was released in January after two French judges ruled the evidence against him wasn’t strong enough to take to trial. He was never formally charged, and returned to teach at Carleton this term.
But, French authorities appealed against his release this past summer citing new handwriting evidence from Greek authorities that needed to be translated and turned over to the parties in the case for review.
Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, called the delay “a great source of disappointment” at a press conference held shortly after the update from French authorities.
“Today’s news comes, to say the least, as deep frustration and disappointment,” Neve said.
“French authorities continue to hold onto some unbelievably slim hope that they can somehow keep this case alive by resurrecting evidence.”
Diab said the decade-long legal process has severely impacted his mental health and ability have a normal life with his family.
“My family and I have been living this kafkaesque situation for over 10 years. I have spent the past decade of my life either in prison or under draconian conditions,” he said. “What more to prove my innocence? What more before my family and I can move on with our lives?”
“France doesn’t want to admit they made a mistake. I can’t find any other explanation for all these delays,” he added.
Donald Bayne, Diab’s Canadian lawyer, said the only solution to this case is a public review in Canada.
“This is not a case to be handled with a secret in-camera, behind closed doors review conducted by a non-judge who has no power,” Bayne said. “This is bizarre, and it speaks to something fishy going on behind the scenes—something political about this case.”
He added the reason why current Canadian authorities are not taking Diab’s case seriously enough is because of the upcoming federal election.
“Governments have learnt that public inquiries are messy—they start to reveal inconvenient truths both about the system and people in the system,” Bayne said.
“Even though this [current] government was not the government that extradited wrongfully Dr. Diab [sic], they don’t want another public controversy brewing.”
He added the new evidence brought against Diab will be reviewed by Feb. 15 next year, but his final ruling will probably only be wrapped up by next summer.
Diab said he will continue to teach at Carleton while waiting for the decision from French authorities.
“I’m just trying to keep strong just to keep going,” he said.
File photo
