Following criticism from Jewish organizations, Canada’s Carleton University has abandoned plans to reinstate a professor accused of killing four people in the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue. Hassan Diab, 55, had been given a contract to teach a sociology class two days a week until mid August. Diab’s lawyer told a court that his client had expected to resume teaching this week. However, the university said in a statement that a full-time faculty member “will immediately replace” him, explaining the move was meant to provide students “with a stable, productive academic environment that is conducive to learning.”
Diab, a Lebanese national who became a Canadian citizen in 1993, has been under virtual house arrest since he was arrested in November 2008. He was granted bail but under strict conditions, and is currently fighting efforts by French authorities to extradite him. An exemption was granted for Diab to attend the university unaccompanied.
