The glacial extradition hearing for a university professor accused of bombing a Paris synagogue will wrap up in March if a judge gets his way.
Judge Robert Maranger has set a tentative end date of March 11 in the case of Hassan Diab, accused by the French of the 1980 Rue Copernic attack.
French authorities want him extradited.
Diab’s hearing will return to Ontario Superior Court on Feb. 7, when the court will hear submissions on the handwriting evidence that lies at the heart of the case.
The defence will argue to toss a French handwriting report linking Diab to the bombing.
Three defence experts have spent days savaging the French report, calling it flawed and biased.
Judge Robert Maranger will rule on the validity of the report before hearing final submissions.
Though the handwriting report is considered to be key evidence, Crown lawyers say its exclusion would not deal a death blow to their case.
If the hearing does not conclude on time, the Diab case will be pushed back until November, when Maranger will next become free.
