Canada, Have a Change of Heart
Bring Hassan Diab Home!
What: A Valentine’s Vigil to Reunite a Canadian Family
When: Tuesday, February 9, 11:00 am
Where: Global Affairs Canada, 125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa (followed by a walk to the French embassy)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/179865012379973/
Please wear red, and bring flowers and Valentines!
In November, 2014, Dr. Hassan Diab was forcibly removed from Canada and thrown behind bars in France. He has been there ever since. He is fighting false allegations leveled against him even though his physical description, his palm and hand prints, and his handwriting do not match those of the suspect in a 1980 crime that Dr. Diab has repeatedly denied involvement in, and condemned.
In other words, the French government has the wrong guy in their jail. But if Canada had done its due diligence, its courts would have rejected an extradition request for someone who now faces a wrongful conviction and possible life sentence in a foreign prison based on secret information, the source of which not even the French authorities know. This nightmare is shared by Dr. Diab’s family in Ottawa.
We believe that the new Liberal government, in examining the serious deficiencies in the extradition case against Dr. Diab, would not have sent him to France to face possible trial for a crime he did not commit. We are calling on Canada to reconsider this wrongful extradition case, to declare it has had a change of heart, admit that the decision to extradite Hassan was unfair, unjust, and uncalled for, and that he should be returned to his home, family, and community in Ottawa.
Join us as we present Valentines to Global Affairs Canada, asking them to have a change of heart, and then walk a short distance to the French embassy, urging them to also have a change of heart, recognize they have the wrong man in custody, and send him back home.
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/
Getting there: Take Bus 9 to the Global Affairs Building
If you cannot make it, please send a brief note to the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Stéphane Dion, urging him to speak with his French counterparts about bringing Hassan home. Mr. Dion can be reached at stephane.dion@parl.gc.ca
Please share this announcement widely!
Sponored by:
Hassan Diab Support Committtee
diabsupport@gmail.com
http://www.
St. Valentine’s Day is a time to remember all those unjustly jailed. St. Valentine was a priest who was persecuted, tortured, jailed and decapitated by Roman Emperor Claudius because Valentine defied the prohibition on conducting marriages for young people. Claudius was concerned that married men would be less willing to give their lives in battle. Valentine’s last note from prison, “from your Valentine”, eventually became the basis for Valentine greetings.
