An Ottawa judge would be making the “gravest of errors” if he released on bail a man accused of murder in a terrorist bombing more than two decades ago, a federal prosecutor argued Friday.
Assistant Crown attorney Claude LeFrancois told Ontario Superior Court Justice Michel Charbonneau that Hassan Naim Diab poses a flight risk, given the gravity of the offences he has been accused of, and his extensive network of connections in the Middle East and other countries.
Diab, 55, is wanted by French authorities in a terrorist bombing at a Paris synagogue in October 1980, which killed four people and prompted stepped-up security at Jewish community institutions around the world.
French authorities say the Lebanese-born Diab was a member of a radical socialist Palestinian organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, when he was a student in Lebanon. They allege he not only carried out the attack in Paris, but also a car-bombing in Antwerp, Belgium, the next year.
Diab, who was arrested at his Ottawa-area apartment last week, is seeking his release from custody pending possible extradition proceedings.
“The release of such a person in these circumstances could do nothing but hurt the confidence of Canadians in the administration of justice,” said LeFrancois, who at one point described how the attacker set out to indiscriminately kill as many people as he possibly could when he set off a bomb outside the Paris synagogue. “The objective, the driving force behind this blast, is terrorism.”
According to LeFrancois, France has 45 days from the time of Diab’s arrest to formally request the extradition. The attorney general then has an additional 30 days to consider the request before determining whether a hearing is warranted. If France requests extradition, and it’s anticipated that they will, a date for the hearing likely won’t be set until February.
In his submissions, Diab’s lawyer, Rene Duval, passionately attacked the case against his client, arguing the part-time Carleton and University of Ottawa sociology professor posed no threat to public safety.
Diab has led an “exemplary life” with no criminal convictions in any country, said Duval, and has already turned over his Canadian passport. He could be ordered not to contact anyone involved in the case, Duval said.
Duval added there was “no evidence” Diab has made any attempts to flee Canada or to go into hiding, even after a reporter at the French newspaper, Le Figaro, contacted him in December 2007 to inquire about his possible involvement in the bombing.
Duval argued nothing in Diab’s travel history would warrant his detention, suggesting suspicion about extensive trips to and from Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries was based solely on “stereotypes.”
Duval spent a significant portion of his submissions arguing about flaws in the evidence presented to Canadian authorities by the French investigators.
In particular, he suggested sketches of a suspect that resembled Diab were improperly obtained, handwriting experts disagreed about whether samples of the bomber’s handwriting matched Diab’s, and photocopies of a passport belonging to Diab that was allegedly seized from another man at the Rome airport in the days after the bombing was of poor quality and missing pages.
In response, LeFrancois argued it’s not the job of the Canadian courts to establish if Diab is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Extradition law only requires that the evidence be substantial enough that a jury, if reasonably instructed, could return a verdict.
“These allegations are quite credible and quite substantial. This is a solid case,” said LeFrancois, adding the onus is on the defence to show why he should be released and “not the other way around.”
LeFrancois dismissed Duval’s suggestion that Diab would have been more likely to flee following the Le Figaro report.
“Now he knows he is far closer to a permanent jail cell than when Le Figaro tells him he is the subject of an investigation,” said LeFrancois, adding Diab now faces a possible life sentence if convicted of the crimes he’s accused of. “He has been charged and he knows he could be on the way to meet a trial in France.”
Earlier in the day, Diab’s common-law wife and proposed surety, Rania Tfaily, said she believed the allegations levelled against her husband are “a mistake.”
“I believe he is innocent,” said the soft-spoken 30-year-old, who wore a pink head scarf, pinstriped suit jacket and full-length skirt in court. “I know his views about terrorism and the killing of innocent people. He would never do such a thing.”
Judge Charbonneau isn’t expected to rule on the bail application until Dec. 3.
