A suspect in a terrorist bombing in France will learn Thursday whether he has been successful in his efforts to fight two-year long efforts to extradite him from Canada.
Lebanese-born Canadian citizen Hassan Diab is facing charges of murder and attempted murder in France for his alleged role in a Paris synagogue bombing October 3, 1980. Four people were killed and more than 40 others were wounded in the attack.
Diab, 57, has claimed that he is the victim of a case of mistaken identity.
Canadian prosecutors alleged that Diab was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who helped arrange the bombing.
Handwriting analyst Anne Biscotti discovered similarities between samples of Diab’s writing and five words written in a Paris hotel registry shortly before the attack. Three expert witnesses from Canada, the U.S. and the UK have all criticized Biscotti’s testimony.
Defense attorney Donald Bayne hopes to introduce French experts to address Biscotti’s methodology and to establish that the legal system in France precludes argument against Biscotti’s report in court.
Canadian prosecutor Claude LeFrancois has said, however, the point is irrelevant and that he does not have the legal jurisdiction to consider whether Diab will receive a fair trial in France.