The following letter has been written by Michelle Weinroth. Please sign it and join her in asking NDP member of parliament Heather McPherson to walk the talk.
September 2023
Dear Ms. McPherson,
On April 21, 2023, following a two-week trial, one held in absentia at France’s Assizes Court, Hassan Diab was sentenced to life in prison. On that same day, you called on the Liberal government to block France’s second extradition request for this most abused fellow Canadian, a man whose innocence had already been affirmed in 2018 – and not least by France’s own eminent investigative magistrates. Four months have elapsed since that fateful Friday, and still the Liberal Government remains tight-lipped. It is clear: the Diab Affair will be remembered as one of the most egregious scandals in Canada’s history of judicial affairs.
Many are therefore grateful to you for your immediate and forceful response to the brutal blow that France dealt the beleaguered Dr. Diab on April 21st. Many appreciate that you pointedly articulated the extreme injustice of the Diab Affair, stating that “the entire trial of Hassan Diab was a sham,” and that “Dr. Diab “has lived through a nightmare for the last [15 years] ...”
Like you and your NDP colleagues, Dr. Diab’s advocates have appealed to the Liberal Government, and particularly over the past two years, calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reject a second extradition request and honour the words (4:57-5:20) he uttered in 2018: i.e., that “what happened to Dr. Diab should never have happened and should never happen again.”
Towards mid-June, an open letter to the Prime Minister, signed by more than 650 persons, was hand-delivered to the Prime Minister’s Office and also sent to him by e-mail on June 16th. Later, in July, Dr. Diab, himself, hand-delivered a petition with 10,000 signatures, exhorting the prime minister to put an end to this odious case. In response, the PMO recommended that these two appeals be redirected to the Minister of Justice.
In conformity with this recommendation, another letter was sent to the government, this time, to the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Arif Virani. Following that effort, a letter was sent to Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, calling on her to intervene and facilitate a process that would secure Dr. Diab’s liberty. Last, but not least, Dr. Diab’s ten-year-old daughter sent a most touching letter to Ms. Freeland, imploring the minister to protect her father from being sent back to prison. To date, however, these various appeals have been met with a deafening silence.
Over the years, Dr. Diab’s supporters have grown in number, and as this scandalous case persists, more Canadians continue to vindicate the Diab cause. Many are exasperated at the government’s inaction and the excruciating waiting period to which Dr. Diab is being subjected. He lives in limbo, not knowing from one minute to the next what awaits him. The Liberal Government has done nothing to apprise him of its position; instead, it has left him in agonizing uncertainty. In the words of Bob Dylan, one might ask: How many roads must Dr. Diab walk down before our government calls him a man?
At this eleventh hour, I, along with thousands of Diab supporters, am asking if you would please exert the necessary pressure on the Liberal Government to ensure that a second extradition for Dr. Diab is categorically refused, and that this case of historic and colossal injustice is brought to an end without further ado.
Ms. McPherson, many applaud you for the support you have offered thus far. But more concerted advocacy is needed. Dr. Diab requires the NDP’s political strength to help secure his freedom. In effect, since the NDP holds the balance of power, it is well placed to raise this issue in the House and to act as an essential catalyst in bringing this awful case to a close. For the answer to Bob Dylan’s question is not, in fact, blowing in the wind. It is before our eyes – in the halls of parliament where the NDP’s voice truly counts.
Written by Michelle Weinroth, Ottawa.
