Hassan Diab (sociologist)
Canadian sociologist (born 1953) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hassan N. Diab (Arabic: حسن دياب; born November 20, 1953) is a Lebanese-Canadian citizen and sociologist who has been convicted in absentia of having planted the explosive that caused the 1980 Paris synagogue bombing.[1] He has always countered the accusation by insisting he was in Lebanon, and has witnesses and evidence to prove it, at the time of the event.[2][3]
Hassan Diab | |
---|---|
حسن دياب | |
Born | Hassan N. Diab (1953-11-20) November 20, 1953 (age 70) |
Nationality |
|
Occupation | University instructor |
Known for | 1980 Paris synagogue bombing |
Conviction(s) | Terrorism |
Criminal charge | Terrorism |
Penalty | Life imprisonment |
Academic background | |
Education | |
Thesis | The Dynamics of Disparity: Social Repercussions in Lebanon of Beirut's Financial Role in the Middle East (1943-1975) (1995) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Sociologist |
Sub-discipline | Public welfare |
In 2008, France requested his extradition for his alleged involvement in the bombing. After a lengthy extradition hearing, on June 6, 2011, the Canadian extradition judge described the evidence as "convoluted, very confusing, with conclusions that are suspect" and stated that "the prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial seem unlikely". However, the judge said that his interpretation of Canada’s extradition law left him no choice but to commit Diab to extradition.
On April 4, 2012, the Minister of Justice, Rob Nicholson, ordered Diab extradited to France. Diab's appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal was rejected and the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear the case. On November 14, 2014, Hassan was extradited from Canada to France where he was imprisoned for three years and two months without trial while the investigation continued.[4]
On January 12, 2018 the charges against Diab were dismissed, after the investigative judges found the evidence for his presence in Lebanon at the time consistent,[2][5] and two days later he returned to Canada.[6] Three years later, in January 2021, the Paris Appeals court reversed the dismissal of charges and ordered that he stand trial. On May 19, 2021, France's highest court of appeal, the Court of Cassation ordered the trial to go ahead. Evidence presented against him in France included a sketch of the bomber that resembled him and the discovery of a passport in his name with entry and exit stamps from Spain, where the bomber is believed to have fled.[7] On April 21, 2023, Diab was convicted of terrorism charges in absentia and sentenced to life in prison.[1]
Diab's supporters allege that he was wrongly charged, that fingerprint evidence from the crime scene which exculpated him had not been admitted, that the 'smoking gun' evidence suggesting he had used a second passport to enter Spain at the time consists of a faded passport facsimile for which the original has not come to light, and that evidence corroborates his alibi that he was in Lebanon at the time of the attack.[2]