OTTAWA - The man accused of bombing a Paris synagogue in 1980 was back in court - briefly - Thursday to announce that he is looking for a new lawyer.
Hassan Naim Diab, 55, was supposed to be fighting the validity of a warrant that allowed police to search his Hull, Que., apartment.
Instead, his lawyer informed the court that Diab is seeking another lawyer, and that he will no longer be representing him.
“Mr. Diab has withdrawn our mandate to represent him,” said René Duval. “I’m not in a position to appear today.”
Duval said he had just found out about his client’s decision, or he would have given the court advance notice.
Diab, an Ottawa university professor, was arrested on Nov. 13 at the request of French authorities.
He is accused of the bombing of a Paris synagogue in October 1980 that killed four people and injured scores of others.
The French say the Lebanese-born Diab was a member of a radical socialist Palestinian organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), when he was a student in Lebanon.
He says the accusations stem from a case of mistaken identity.
Diab’s common-law wife, Raina Tfaily, told the court her husband hasn’t yet found a new lawyer.
“We are making efforts but we have not finalized it,” he said.
Duval says he is puzzled by his former client’s decision.
“The best explanation I have is that he’s in a state of shock that bail was denied on Wednesday,” said Duval.
Diab is being held in custody while awaiting court proceedings to determine whether there is enough evidence to extradite him to France to face trial for the bombing.
Dressed in a white shirt and black jacket, he twice thanked Judge Jean-Pierre Plouffe for explaining why he should retain counsel and how to proceed once he has another lawyer.
Diab will next appear in an Ottawa court on Dec. 12, and will be back in court in Gatineau, Que., on Dec. 17 to set a new date to fight the warrant.
Diab must fight the search warrants’ validity in two jurisdictions because warrants were issued for his temporary apartment in Hull and for partner’s condominium in Ottawa.
