Justice minister orders outside review of Hassan Diab extradition case

OTTAWA ' Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould has asked for an independent review of an extradition that resulted in Ottawa professor Hassan Diab spending three years in a French jail, only to be suddenly released.

The external review ' which has not started ' is in addition to an internal "lessons learned" examination already underway, a spokesman for Wilson-Raybould said Wednesday.

French authorities suspected Diab, 64, was involved in the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue that killed four people and injured dozens of others, an accusation he has always denied.

The sociology professor and his supporters have been urging the federal government to hold a full public inquiry into the case and to reform the Extradition Act to ensure individual rights are respected.

In a letter Tuesday to Amnesty International Canada and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, Wilson-Raybould said Diab was afforded "all of the procedural safeguards" under the Extradition Act and that his charter rights were considered during Canadian court proceedings.

"Nonetheless, due to the three-year-period that Dr. Diab spent in custody in France, I have been reflecting carefully on this case," said her letter, made available to the The Canadian Press by the two rights organizations.

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