A man accused of murder in a terrorist bombing more than two decades ago has been denied bail and will stay in custody pending the outcome of an extradition hearing because the judge believes he is a flight risk.
Hassan Naim Diab, 55, is wanted by French authorities in connection with 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.
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.
At a bail hearing a few weeks ago, 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.
“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.
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’s extradition hearing is not expected to take place until February or March 2009.
