French authorities have left extradition proceedings against Ottawa university professor Hassan Diab “hanging in limbo,” the accused terrorist’s defence lawyer said Monday.
Don Bayne slammed France for dragging its feet after asking Justice Robert Maranger five months ago to delay the date of the extradition hearing while justice officials in Paris gather more evidence.
The French have neither provided that evidence nor indicated when it might arrive in Ottawa.
“They should tell us what’s up or give us a serious indication as to where they stand,” said Bayne. “Is there new evidence? There may be, there may be not. Is there evidence in the pipeline that isn’t ready yet? We don’t know.”
Two years into the protracted case, the formal extradition hearing is now set for three weeks, beginning June 14.
The French want Canada to hand over 56-year-old Diab, who they accuse of murdering four people in a 1980 synagogue bombing in Paris.
Maranger told Bayne and Crown prosecutor Claude LeFrancois that he won’t delay the June start of the extradition hearing, but if the French wanted to provide new evidence he would leave the door open for them to do so. LeFrancois said he didn’t know for certain what the French are planning.
“There may be evidence,” he said. “There has been communication with France but I can’t describe the nature of the evidence.”
Diab, who wears lectronic monitoring equipment that costs him $30,000 a year, was born in Lebanon but obtained Canadian citizenship in 1993.
Aside from electronic and satellite monitoring, Diab must not leave his home unaccompanied and mustlive with his common-law spouse, Rania Tfaily, at her Ottawa residence. He may only leave her house for work, legal or medical appointments and for those appointments he must be accompanied by Tfaily.
