Carleton instructor Hassan Diab, 54, attended his bail hearing Thursday, Nov. 20, after he was arrested Nov. 13 in connection with the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue that killed four people and injured dozens.
Chaos erupted in the posh Paris neighbourhood after a motorcycle parked in front of a synagogue exploded. No one claimed responsibility for the attack and it was later blamed on the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-Special Operations.
Diab is alleged to have helped build the bomb. French authorities are requesting the Lebanese-born professor be extradited to France to face charges of murder and attempted murder for the bombing.
The case went cold but re-emerged in 2007 when German authorities found an old membership list for the organization. Soon after, Diab was investigated by French authorities.
After earning his bachelor of arts in Lebanon, he emigrated to the United States where he obtained a PhD from Syracuse University. He moved to Canada in the 1990s and this year taught one second-year course at Carleton and a fourth-year course at the University of Ottawa in the department of sociology and anthropology.
When he was first investigated, he told the French magazine, LeFigaro, that in 2007 the police made an error. “I am a victim of mistaken identity not based on anything,” he is quoted as saying.
Diab blames the popularity of his name in the Arab world for the confusion.
“I do not see any other explanation. I have never belonged to any Palestinian organization, nor have I been militant politically.”
Due to an imposed publication ban, no details of the case against Diab can be released. All that can be published are the charges against Diab, when he appears in court and whether or not he is released on bail.
His lawyer, Rene Duval, maintains it is a case of mistaken identity, and that his client was shocked by his arrest.
"[Diab] is a law-abiding citizen, devoted to his teaching and dedicated to his students,” Duval said of his client. “Nobody can say anything negative about this person.”
None of his colleagues at Carleton could be reached for comment. The chair of the sociology and anthropology department, Wallace Clement, said he had only met him once at a reception.
However, one of his former professors at Syracuse Univesity spoke to Canwest News Services about Diab. “He’s very intelligent, very committed to his professional work,” Louis Kriesberg said. “He’s a lively person - I enjoy him.”
Clement could not give specifics on the future of his course, but said the university will re-evaluate the situation after the bail hearing. Carleton will have to decide whether or not another instructor will take over the course for the remainder of the year.
An official with the department said students have been informed of the situation, but would not comment on specific details regarding those communications.
