On the first day of Dr. Diab’s extradition hearing, the Raging Grannies were outside the court along with 75 others to support his effort to stop his extradition to France based on flimsy and secret evidence. Esther, Shannon and Jane were in costume, while Jo, Ria and Rosalie stayed in civy clothes. After cheering and chanting as Dr. Diab, his wife, Rania Tfainy, and lawyer, Donald Bayne entered the courtroom, we all went up to show our support in the courtroom.
Dr. Diab has been a Canadian citizen since 1993. He moved to Ottawa in 2006 and since then, he has taught at the University of Ottawa and at Carleton University. Officials from France, using secret and ever changing intelligence, have implicated him in a bombing outside a synagogue in Paris, France thirty years ago (1980). He was arrested in Ottawa in 2008. Since Canada has an Extradition treaty with France, they can request removal of a person. What this means is that without vetting the so-called evidence, because this is a hearing not a trial, Dr. Diab can be turned over to France where he would undergo trial. Dr. Diab denies all charges. For more information: JusticeForHassanDiab.org