..
Canadian academic Hassan Diab ordered to stand trial
in French terrorism case
..
Lower court ruled Diab must stand trial in bombing case 3 years after being set free
due to lack of evidence
David Cochrane · CBC News ·
Posted: May 19, 2021 8:27 AM ET
Hassan Diab arrives for a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
(Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
France's top court has rejected Hassan Diab's appeal and ordered the Ottawa academic to stand trial for a bombing outside of a Paris synagogue 40 years ago.
Diab's family and his lawyers confirmed that France's court of cassation rejected their appeal in a written decision this morning.
"We are very disappointed, of course. This is a hard turnout," said Amélie Lefebvre, one of Diab's French lawyers. "But we remain confident that Hassan's innocence will be recognized."
In January, France's court of appeal overturned a lower court decision that set the 67-year-old Diab free due to a lack of evidence.
France's Advocate General, a senior officer of the law who offers advice in the French legal system, sided with Diab's defence team in the hearings and argued for his release.
But Diab's release has been opposed by more than 20 civil society groups in France — including victims of terrorism groups and pro-Israel organizations.
Diab's Canadian lawyer Don Bayne said pressure from those groups played a role in today's decision. "The travesty of justice continues despite clear evidence of Hassan's innocence," he said in a statement. "This shows how political pressure trumps justice. We call upon Prime Minister Trudeau to put an end to this miscarriage of justice."
Accusation and extradition
The Ottawa university lecturer was accused by authorities of involvement in the 1980 Rue Copernic bombing, which killed four people and injured more than 40.
The bombing took place in the evening near the beginning of Shabbat, during the Jewish holiday of Sim'hat Torah. Wikipedia
He was arrested by the RCMP in November 2008 and placed under strict bail conditions until he was extradited to France in 2014. He spent more than three years in prison in France before the case against him collapsed.
Firemen stand by the wreckage of a car and motorcycle after a bomb attack at a Paris synagogue on Oct. 3, 1980 that killed four people. (AFP/Getty Images)
He was released in January 2018 after two French judges ruled the evidence against him wasn't strong enough to take to trial. He was never formally charged.
French prosecutors appealed Diab's release promptly — pursuing it after the last remaining piece of physical evidence linking Diab to the bombing had been discredited by France's own experts.
The case moved slowly as prosecutors sought to find new evidence against Diab, and as court proceedings were delayed by the pandemic.
Discredited evidence
The key physical evidence Canada relied on in extraditing Diab to France was handwriting analysis linking Diab's handwriting to that of the suspected bomber. Canadian government lawyers acting on France's behalf called it a "smoking gun" in the extradition hearing.
But in 2009, Diab's legal team produced contrary reports from four international handwriting experts. These experts questioned the methods and conclusions of the French experts. They also proved that some of the handwriting samples used by the French analysts belonged not to Diab but to his ex-wife.
French investigative judges dismissed the handwriting evidence as unreliable when they ordered Diab's release in January 2018.
While considering the appeal of Diab's release, another French judge ordered an independent review of the contentious handwriting evidence.
Diab's lawyers said this latest review delivered "a scathing critique and rebuke" of the original handwriting analysis "that mirror[s] the critique by the defence during the extradition hearing 10 years ago."
French judges said Diab had an alibi
The French investigative judges who released Diab also found he had an alibi for the day of the Paris bombing. Using university records and interviews with Diab's classmates, the investigative judges determined he was "probably in Lebanon" writing exams when the bombing outside the synagogue took place.
"It is likely that Hassan Diab was in Lebanon during September and October 1980 … and it is therefore unlikely that he is the man … who then laid the bomb on Rue Copernic on October 3rd, 1980," they wrote.
In 2018, CBC News confirmed that France was aware of — and had failed to disclose — fingerprint evidence that ended up playing a critical role in Diab's release.
Since his release, Diab has been living with his wife and two children in Ottawa. He has resumed work as a part-time lecturer.
A spokesperson for Attorney General of Canada David Lametti would not comment on any extradition request.
"It would be inappropriate to speculate on any potential requests for extradition for Dr. Diab to France," said David Taylor in a statement.
"Canada is a rule of law country where extraditions are guided by the Extradition Act, international treaties and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."
Lebanon’s foreign minister offers to resign after blaming
Gulf states for the rise of IS
19 May, 2021 10:07
© Reuters / MOHAMED AZAKIR
Foreign minister Charbel Wehbe offered his resignation on Wednesday in the wake of global condemnation over remarks he made suggesting the Gulf states were responsible for the rise of Islamic State.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun confirmed that Wehbe had submitted his resignation in a tweet posted on Wednesday. The diplomat evidently felt he could no longer fulfil his duties and responsibilities in light of the controversy generated by the views he had expressed in a TV interview.
“Those countries of love, friendship, and fraternity, they got us Islamic State and planted it in the plains of Nineveh and Anbar and Palmyra,” Wehbe had said, referencing the Gulf states during a broadcast on the Alhurra regional network on Monday.
Aoun had previously rejected the foreign minister’s comments as a “personal opinion” that “in no way reflects the position of the Lebanese state,” while Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri condemned Wehbe for angering allies when Beirut was “drowning” in crises.
But, he didn't seem to disagree with him!
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia summoned the Lebanese ambassador to hand him an “official memorandum of protest” over the foreign minister’s remarks, after Riyadh claimed he had damaged “brotherly relations” between the two countries. Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates also made similar moves to issue formal complaints over the remarks.
Wehbe was appointed as foreign minister in Lebanon’s caretaker government, which was formed after the previous administration was forced to resign following public outrage over the 2020 explosion in Beirut that killed 207 and left thousands injured.
There is little doubt that the Gulf States, including Saudi Arabia, were implicit in organizing and supplying ISIS in their attempt to displace Bashar Al-Assad, an ally of Iran. The amazing destruction was nothing more than a proxy war against Iran.
In about-face, Denmark to bring 3 mothers & 19 children back
from Syria camps for ISIS sympathizers
19 May, 2021 01:13
© REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic
The Danish government has announced that it will seek to repatriate three Danish women, 14 of their children and another five minors, who have been interned in Syria over their support to Islamic State terrorists.
First reported by local media, the move was confirmed by the Danish PM Mette Frederiksen’s government on Tuesday. The three women, who are Danish citizens and are set to be repatriated together with their 14 children, have been kept prisoners in al-Hol and Roj camps in northeastern Syria, over their role in supporting Islamic State terrorist group..
The Social Democratic minority government said it would seek to repatriate another five children, who have links to Denmark. As their mothers are not welcome, the repatriation will depend upon the women giving their consent. So far, the mothers have been unwilling to sign on to the process, the daily Aftenposten reported.
The decision to bring the women and their offspring to Denmark came after the Security and Intelligence Service (PET) argued there would be a greater long-term risk to Danish security if the women continued to be kept in the Kurdish-run camps. The longer the women and their children rubbed shoulders with other suspected terrorist sympathizers, the more radicalized they could get, the PET argued.
Another concern highlighted by the service is that detainees can receive weapons training at the camp, and would pose a far greater threat to Danish security if they come back at a later date. Upon arrival into Denmark, the women are to be put on trial for their role in the terrorist group, and can face a prison sentence from three to five years, the Copenhagen daily Berlingske reported.
Health officials have also reportedly recommended bringing children home from Syria, after Danish specialists examined the minors and concluded that all 19 were suffering from the symptoms of anxiety, including over the prospect of being separated from their mothers and siblings, and that their mental state is likely to deteriorate if they stay in the camp.
However, the Danish government is adamant that three of the mothers – whose Danish citizenship has been revoked – should be left in the camp while their children are flown back, according to Berlingske.
Frederiksen’s move to repatriate the group is an about-face from her own recent rhetoric. The prime minister, who came to power on anti-immigration agenda, used to reject the possibility of the women’s return, saying that “foreign fighters are unwanted in Denmark, regardless of whether they are mothers or fathers” as recently as March.
Although lamenting that the children had to suffer because their parents “turned their backs on Denmark,” Frederiksen had said that the adults who volunteered to join IS “must take responsibility for that.”
So, who looks after the kids in Denmark if all their mothers go to jail or stay in Syria?
No comments:
Post a Comment