The case of a former University of Ottawa professor committed for extradition to France to face terrorism charges will likely end up in appeal before the Supreme Court of Canada, Hassan Diab's defence lawyer said.
France wants to try Diab in the bombing of a synagogue in Paris 1980 that killed four people.
Diab, his lawyer Don Bayne and supporters argue it's a case of mistaken identity.
In a video statement recorded before an Ottawa judge ordered his extradition, Diab said he was not in France at the time of the bombing and that France's case rests on secret intelligence and "shoddy handwriting analysis."
Justice Robert Maranger, in his decision to extradite, said the case against Diab is "weak" and "the prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial seem unlikely."
Because of a precedent-setting case in Ontario, Maranger said he had no choice but to allow the extradition, Bayne said. Case law in other provinces conflicts with the Ontario precedent, which is why Bayne suspects the Supreme Court will hear Diab's case.
"Dr. Diab today would be walking a free man in Vancouver if this case had been conducted there, and in Ontario he is behind bars," Bayne said. "I would suspect that would attract the attention of the Supreme Court of Canada."