Freeland: "Diab case important to look into"

Image: Ottawa Citizen: His fellow prisoners chanted: “Hassan est libre. Hassan est libre.”

Canada's Justice Department colluded with France to find reason to convict Hassan Diab of participation in an act of terrorism.

Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs thinks that's "important to look into".

No kidding, eh? Chrystia Freeland is long overdue with any statement to that effect, as well as much too understated. How about "very important"?  How about "crucial"? How about "How could a travesty like this have occurred in Canada"?  And how about,"Why did the NDP have to tell us what we Liberals should have thought of all by ourselves?"

At the very least, anyone serving the Canadian government in a legal capacity needs to be carefully screened for personal integrity, and for biases, especially with regard to religion and/or country of origin.

Dear Readers: What follows is a communication received from the Justice for Hassan Diab Committee. Please read it, follow the links to learn more, and think about what you might be able to do to help ensure that, in future, Canada's Justice System pays more attention to the rights of the accused - supposedly enshrined in our laws - than it does to the bolstering of a foreign country's failed case against him (or her, because who knows who might be next?).

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You may be aware of the recent CBC coverage of Dr. Hassan Diab’s ordeal and the role the Canadian Department of Justice played in facilitating his extradition to France. When the case against Hassan was falling apart, after the defense discredited the French handwriting analysis, Senior Department of Justice lawyers urged French authorities to produce “new” handwriting analysis. Justice Department lawyers also suppressed fingerprint evidence showing Hassan’s innocence.

We are gravely concerned about the problematic role that Department of Justice lawyers played in pushing for Hassan’s unjust extradition, and troubled by Canada’s deeply flawed extradition law that puts all Canadians at risk.
 
We urge you to join us in calling for an independent public inquiry into Hassan’s case and reforming Canada’s extradition law so that no other Canadian is subjected to such a flawed and unfair process. We do not have faith in an internal review by the Department of Justice which, in the first place, was responsible for Hassan’s ordeal.

Amnesty International Canada and the BC Civil Liberties Association sent an open letter to the Canadian Ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs calling on them to launch a thorough public inquiry into Hassan’s case. Also, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) called for an independent public inquiry into Hassan’s treatment. MP Murray Rankin, Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, raised [YouTube] Hassan’s case in Parliament and called for an independent public inquiry.

We ask you to add your voice by writing to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling upon him to launch a thorough, independent public inquiry into Hassan’s case. Please copy the Ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs and your member of Parliament on your letter, and share your correspondence with diabsupport@gmail.com.

Email addresses:
    To: pm@pm.gc.ca 
    Cc: jody.wilson-raybould@parl.gc.ca
    Cc: chrystia.freeland@international.gc.ca
    Cc: Your Member of Parliament 

A sample letter is available:
    PDF version of sample letter
    Word version of sample letter

Also, please post on social media and write articles and op-eds calling for a public inquiry.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Hassan Diab Support Committee
diabsupport@gmail.com

For More Information:

“Canada helped France dig up evidence to extradite Ottawa man later freed on terror charges”, CBC News, May 1, 2018

“Extradition could happen to anyone, says professor fighting for change in law”, CBC Radio – The Current, May 2, 2018 (Audio)

“Canada's role in innocent man's imprisonment”, CBC The National, May 1, 2018 (Video)

'What more can you lose?' CBC News, May 1, 2018

Amnesty/BCCLA letter, May 2, 2018

CAUT letter, May 3, 2018

MP Murray Rankin raising Hassan’s case in Parliament (Video)