Saturday, February 09, 2013

Hassan Diab Threatened with Debtor's Prison Over Canadian Government Costs of His Years-Long Surveillance

 

“Hundred for Hassan” Campaign - Call for Support and Solidarity

by Hassan Diab Support Committee

 
To many people, "debtors' prison" sounds like an archaic institution, something out of a novel by Charles Dickens. But the idea of imprisoning people who can't pay what they “owe” is alive and well in the case of Dr. Hassan Diab. Hassan will be put in prison if he does not pay his “creditor” – in this case, the Canadian government – $2,000 per month for the cost of his own surveillance.

We invite you to be one of 100 people – A HUNDRED FOR HASSAN – who care about due process and the presumption of innocence and oppose abusive extradition proceedings, by pledging $20 per month or more to share the cost of Dr. Diab’s oppressive burden. This is our way of taking a public stand and saying, “This is just wrong.”

We also invite you to add your name to the Hundred for Hassan statement at:
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/hundred-for-hassan-statement

To join the HUNDRED FOR HASSAN campaign, send an email to diabsupport@gmail.com indicating how much you wish to pledge monthly, for how many months, and whether you would like to add your name to the above statement. We will respond and give you details on how to make your monthly contribution.

Visit the Hundred-for-Hassan web page at:
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/hundred-for-hassan


Background

Hassan Diab is a Canadian citizen who enjoyed a peaceful and productive life as a university professor in Ottawa. Suddenly, in November 2008, he was thrown in prison after France requested his extradition in connection with a bombing that took place in Paris in 1980. Even though the “evidence” is very flimsy and problematic, Canada initiated extradition proceedings. After spending several months in prison, Hassan was released in April 2009 under very intrusive bail conditions that include a curfew, supervision when he leaves his home, and the obligation to wear an electronic/GPS tracking device around his ankle. Worse, he must pay for the device himself – $2,000 per month – or return to prison.

The whole case against Dr. Diab rests on secret intelligence from unknown sources that is likely to have been the product of torture. In the years since Hassan’s arrest, France has not been able to produce any court-worthy evidence linking him to the crime. On the contrary, it was revealed during the extradition proceedings that prosecutors have suppressed evidence showing Hassan’s innocence, including the fact that Hassan’s palm and finger prints do not match those of the suspect.

The only so-called “evidence” linking Dr. Diab to the crime is a deeply flawed handwriting analysis report by a French handwriting analyst that claims similarity between Hassan’s handwriting and five words on a hotel registration card in 1980. Three internationally renowned handwriting experts (from Canada, Britain, and the United States) have denounced this handwriting report as deeply flawed, biased, and wholly unreliable.

In June 2012, after a lengthy hearing, a Canadian extradition judge stated that the handwriting report is “convoluted”, “very confusing”, and “with conclusions that are suspect”. He said that the case against Dr. Diab is “weak” and “the prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial seem unlikely”, but he said that his interpretation of Canada’s extradition law left him no choice but to commit Dr. Diab for extradition.

If Hassan’s case were tried in Canada as a criminal case, it would be thrown out of court. However, Canada’s extradition law is very accommodating to foreign governments, and human rights and due process are trampled upon in the name of extradition.

In a Kafkaesque twist, several months after the judge’s decision, France revealed that Dr. Diab has not been charged in France and there are no plans to bring him to trial. Rather, France wants him only for investigation purposes. If extradited, Hassan will languish in prison, possibly for years, while the French authorities continue a 32-year old investigation of a crime that he did not commit.

Despite the new revelation that Hassan is only wanted for questioning, the Minister of Justice signed an order, in April 2012, surrendering Hassan for extradition.


Case Update

Dr.
Diab’s lawyers have launched an appeal of the Canadian judge’s committal decision and the Justice Minister’s surrender order.

In appealing the judge’s decision, Dr. Diab’s lawyers make the case that the judge should not have committed Hassan to extradition based on the French handwriting report that the judge himself found to be “convoluted”, “very confusing”, and “with conclusions that are suspect”.  To counter the Crown attorneys’ argument that France might have a “unique” handwriting methodology that differs from that used in Canada, Britain, and the United States, Hassan’s lawyers submitted evidence from two additional internationally renowned European handwriting experts who are knowledgeable about handwriting comparison analysis in French courts. These two experts attested that handwriting examination has a universally accepted methodology, and that there is no “unique” handwriting examination system in France. They also confirmed that the French handwriting report against Dr. Diab is methodologically flawed and its conclusions are unreliable.

In appealing the Justice Minister’s surrender order, Dr. Diab’s lawyers argue that the Minister lacks jurisdiction to order Dr. Diab’s surrender because Hassan has not been charged in France. Rather, France wants him only for investigation purposes. Dr. Diab’s lawyers also argue that surrendering Dr. Diab on the basis of secret and unsourced intelligence that may be the product of torture violates Dr. Diab’s rights under the Canadian Charter.

The appeal may be heard in the Summer or Fall of 2013. Meanwhile, Dr. Diab and his family must continue to raise funds every month to pay $2,000 for his own surveillance. This is on top of the fact that Hassan has been unemployed since the unfair termination of his University employment in 2009.

-------------------------------------------------------------
Hassan Diab Support Committee

Web: http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
Email: diabsupport@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=159101029758
Twitter: http://twitter.com/friendsofhdiab
-------------------------------------------------------------

No comments: