By Canadian Press

Order to stand trial in Paris bombing flies in face of evidence, Diab’s lawyer says

Jan 27, 2021 | 9:21 AM

OTTAWA — A lawyer for Hassan Diab says a French appeal court’s order that the Ottawa sociology professor stand trial for a decades-old synagogue bombing is the latest misstep in a long odyssey of injustice.

Donald Bayne tells a news conference the decision delivered today in Paris flies in the face of the evidence.

The RCMP arrested Diab in November 2008 in response to a request by France.

French authorities suspected he was involved in the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue that killed four people and injured dozens of others, an accusation he has always denied. 

Following drawn-out 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. 

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In January 2018, French judges dismissed the allegations against him and ordered his immediate release, allowing him to return to Ottawa where he lives with his wife and children.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2021.

The Canadian Press