In October, 1980, Ottowa University sociology lecturer Hassan Diab is believed to have planted a bomb that killed four people outside of a synagogue in Paris, and injuring at least 40 others. In 2008, Diab was arrested by the RCMP. In November of last year, the Lebanese-born academic (now 62) was extradited to France at the request of the French government. Since his arrest, Diab has maintained his innocence, claiming that he was nowhere near the synagogue at the time of the attack.
Now, the French Court of Appeals has rejected Diab’s request to have key evidence (including handwriting and intelligence evidence) dismissed from his case. Diab’s handwriting, which was disputed at his extradition hearing, will play a major role in his trial next year. At the hearing, three handwriting experts stated that the French analysis was incompetent. Diab’s lawyer, Donald Bayne, is dismayed that the handwriting has not been dismissed from his client’s case. The handwriting evidence compared a signature on a hotel registration card with a sample of Diab’s handwriting provided by the University of Syracuse, where Diab was a student.
""Every credible handwriting expert has said the handwriting opinion is unreliable,” Bayne said.
Diab has been charged with four counts of murder, and multiple counts of attempted to murder. If convicted, Diab could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
