Ottawa professor fights extradition for 1980 bomb attack in France

[JohnyCanuck]

Because Hassan Diab is a common Middle Eastern name, Dr. Diab chose not to respond with alarm when, while working in 2007 as a University of Ottawa sociology professor, he was approached by a Le Figaro reporter asking him whether he knew French authorities were claiming he had been involved in the 1980 bombing.

But what Diab could not so easily dismiss were the unidentified individuals and vehicles that began following him, and the attempted break-in at his residence. Although he filed numerous reports with Ottawa police, the intensive surveillance (which he later found out was conducted by RCMP agents) continued, culminating in his 2008 arrest.

Since then, Diab has been involved in protracted court proceedings challenging weaknesses in the French case. It's been a frustrating process, in large measure due to the low threshold French authorities are required to meet in order to extradite him. Indeed, as Manitoba Judge Freda Steel wrote in a 1999 extradition case, "evidence at an extradition hearing should be accepted even if the judge feels it is manifestly unreliable, incomplete, false, misleading, contradictory of other evidence or the judge feels the witness may have perjured themselves."

Those subject to extradition under such maddening conditions are reassured that they can work things out in the requesting country after they have been uprooted from Canada and jailed overseas. But critics note such a process easily undermines human rights protections, including the right to be free from arbitrary arrest and persecution based on ethnicity or religion. "All too often," writes University of Alberta law professor Joanna Harrington, "extradition is seen as a matter of comity or respect for Canada's international relations, but without recognition that this respect should also extend to Canada's treaty engagements with the international community in the field of human rights."

http://rabble.ca/news/2010/11/ottawa-professor-fights-extradition-1980-bomb-attack-france

Upcoming event highlighting the injustices in Canada's extradition law: Hassan Diab v. Canada's Unjust Extradition Law

Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street, Toronto on Thursday, May 19, 7:15 PM

SPEAKERS

* Rania Tfaily, Sociology professor, Carleton University, wife of Hassan Diab who is currently fighting extradition to France
* John Norris, Criminal justice lawyer, specialist in extradition law; works on national security cases; appears before the Supreme Court
* Matthew Behrens, Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada

SPONSORED BY

* Toronto Action for Social Change
* Christian Peacemaker Teams
* Canadian Arab Federation

Contact: [e-mail]

snip

In Hassan's case, Canadian Extradition Law has:

* Allowed deeply flawed handwriting analysis as evidence, despite the Canadian judge finding it "very problematic, very confusing, and with conclusions that are suspect".
* Allowed the authorities to proceed despite the fact that Hassan's physical description and his finger and palm prints do not match those of the suspect.
* Allowed the case to go forward despite numerous serious contradictions and misrepresentations, and despite reliance on secret intelligence in the Record of the Case.

We all have a stake in supporting Hassan in his pursuit of justice. Canada’s shockingly low standard for extraditing its citizens is a threat to the principles of fairness and fundamental justice, and could be used against any of us.

http://yayacanada.blogspot.com/2011/05/kafka-in-court.html

[Boojatta]

1. Is there some kind of freedom of information legislation under which he could have filed a request

for information if he had suspected that a federal government agency was involved? Is surveillance authorized by a court? If it's authorized by a court, is the authorization secret information even while the surveillance fails to be conducted in a secret manner?

Although he filed numerous reports with Ottawa police, the intensive surveillance (which he later found out was conducted by RCMP agents)

Here's some Canadian legislation that might be in the right ball park, but it seems to be provincial and not for the province that Ottawa is in:

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
RSBC 1996 CHAPTER 165

Link