On Campus

Ontario clears way to extradite Ottawa professor

Diab accused of deadly 1980 synagogue bombing in Paris

Ontario has agreed to extradite the Ottawa professor who is accused of murder and attempted murder related to the bombing a Paris synagogue in 1980 — a crime that killed four people and injured 40 others. Hassan Diab, a 57-year-old Lebanon-born Canadian has taught sociology at both the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. Now that the Ontario judge has signed off on the order, Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson will decide whether he goes to France. The minister’s office told CBC News that they will not comment on the possible extradition.

In a twist, the Ontario judge who signed the order noted that France has a “weak case” that is unlikely to result in a conviction. Diab says that he is innocent and that his old passport helps prove that he was not in the country at the time of the bombing. France says he was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who were responsible for the bombing, and that his handwriting appears on a hotel registration card at the time of the crime. The question of whether it’s Diab’s handwriting is highly disputed.

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