Expert Comment: Hassan Diab extradition « troubling » Prof Jacqueline Hodgson – University of Warwick

Professor Jacqueline Hodgson, one of several experts in the case of Hassan Diab, who was extradited to France on Friday after six years of legal proceedings in Canada, has described the situation as “troubling”. She provided evidence about the investigation and prosecution procedure in terrorism cases in France, in particular, the problematic nature of using unsourced intelligence.

Her comment in full: “The case of Hassan Diab, a 60-year-old sociology professor who has been extradited to France, is a troubling one. France has charged Diab with first degree murder in relation to the Rue Copernic terrorist bombing in Paris in 1980, which killed four people and injured dozens more.

“The evidence against him hinges firstly on unsourced intelligence that would be inadmissible in a criminal court in England and Wales (reliability cannot be tested if the source of information and the manner in which it was obtained are unknown); and secondly on the opinion of a handwriting expert described as wholly unreliable by five of the world’s leading handwriting analysts.

“The opportunity to challenge the evidence presented by the requesting state in extradition proceedings in Canada is limited.  The Ontario Superior Court judge, who originally committed Diab for extradition, did so despite acknowledging the weakness of the French case.”