1. Wednesday, May 17 Rally at Prime Minister's Office, 12 noon, Ottawa
2. Chain Fast for Freedom for Hassan Diab, May 19 to June 18 (see details below)
Friends,
As many of you have know, Dr. Hassan Diab of Ottawa, Ontario was extradited to France and has been jailed there for 30 months based on allegations his lawyer calls the classic recipe for a wrongful conviction. French investigating judges have ordered him released six times, and, in a move that is seen as unprecedented, each time the French Court of Appeal overturned all release orders at the prosecutor's behest. (see https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/no-evidence-no-problem)
Supporters of Dr. Diab will rally at the Prime Minister’s office in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 17 at 12 noon, calling on Justin Trudeau to do exactly what he demanded of Prime Minister Harper when journalist Mohamed Fahmy was wrongfully detained in Egypt. In 2015, Trudeau said Harper "has an obligation to use the full force of the Prime Minister’s Office to help Canadian citizens when they are unjustly imprisoned abroad. His inaction must end today.”
We agree. And so, in addition to the May 17 rally in Ottawa, we invite you to join the Chain fast for Freedom for Hassan Diab, running May 19 to June 18, each day representing a full month Dr. Diab has spent behind bars. We invite you to fast for one or more days according to your own traditions and protocol (sunup to sundown, with or without liquids, 24 hours, etc.).
On the day you fast, we invite you to explain why you are fasting to friends and family, in a letter to the editor, and with MPs, including your own and those referred to below.
To sign up to fast, email your name, town, and date(s) to tasc@web.ca, and we will post this information publicly at http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/
In addition to fasting (and for those who would like to help but cannot fast), we invite all of you to write to Prime Minister Trudeau calling on him to use the full force of his office to bring Dr. Diab home. You can write to Trudeau directly online at https://pm.gc.ca/eng/connect
Please also email justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca, Chrystia.Freeland@parl.gc.ca, chrystia.freeland@international.gc.ca, Omar.Alghabra@parl.gc.ca, Jody.Wilson-Raybould@parl.gc.ca
Thanks for your support.
Matthew Behrens
Member, Justice for Hassan Diab
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/
Chain Fast for Freedom for Hassan Diab
May 19 to June 18, 2017
For the next 30 days – each day representing a month of being wrongfully detained in a French jail cell – we will be sharing a chain fast calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to undertake all possible efforts to return Canadian citizen Dr. Hasan Diab to his family in Ottawa.
Dr. Diab is an Ottawa university professor and father of two young Canadian children who has been jailed for over two and a half years in France as a result of a controversial and legally questionable extradition proceeding commenced by the previous Conservative government.
Dr. Diab was sought by the French for a crime he did not commit. Dr. Diab’s finger prints, palm prints, physical description, and handwriting do not match those of the French suspect sought for a 1980 bombing in Paris that tragically killed four people. Dr. Diab has consistently denied involvement and condemned the violence, while French investigating judges have confirmed he was in Lebanon at the time of the bombing.
Of critical concern is the fact that Dr. Diab has been ordered released on bail six times over the past year by investigating judges in charge of his case, but on each occasion, the Court of Appeal overturned all release orders at the prosecutor's behest. French lawyers have called this situation unprecedented, a political maneuver to look tough on terror even though a vast body of evidence shows Dr. Diab did not commit the crime.
The inability of Dr. Diab to obtain release from a cell in which he is confined 22 hours a day – even while two investigative judges have called for such a judicially-sanctioned release recalls the frustrations of other Canadians wrongfully held overseas, such as journalist Mohamed Fahmy.
In 2015, Prime Minister Trudeau issued a powerful statement on Mr. Fahmy’s behalf while in opposition, saying then Prime Minister Stephen Harper "has an obligation to use the full force of the Prime Minister’s Office to help Canadian citizens when they are unjustly imprisoned abroad. His inaction must end today.”
We undertake this chain fast because we believe it is time for Justin Trudeau to consider how to employ the same forceful use of his office in Dr. Diab’s case as well.
Each of us will fast for a day, during which we will write to the Prime Minister, The Global Affairs Minister, the Justice Minister, our member of Parliament; write a letter to the editor; and discuss Dr. Diab’s case with family and friends.
This modest sacrifice is the least we can do to support Dr. Diab and his loved ones as they truly hunger for justice and for their family to be reunited.
May 19, Ria Heynen, Ottawa
May 20, Lyn Adamson, Toronto
May 21, Matthew Behrens, Perth
May 22, Mohammad Al-Rayyan, Ottawa
May 23, Amani Khalfan, Ottawa
May 24, Dima Siam, Ottawa
May 25, Ria Heynen, Ottawa
May 26, Mary Ann Higgs, Kingston
May 27, Jo Wood, Ottawa
May 28, Hassan Almrei, Ontario
May 29, Cym Gomery, Montreal
May 30, Rabea Murtaza, Toronto
May 31, Don Pratt, Berkeley, CA
June 1, Tyler Levitan, Ottawa
June 2, Ria Heynen, Ottawa
June 3, Samiha Rayeda, Ottawa, Murray Lumley, Toronto
June 4, Linda Green, Ottawa
June 5, Janet Siltanen, Ottawa; Larry Rousseau, Ottawa
June 6, Roger Clark, Ottawa
June 7, Don Pratt, Berkeley, CA
June 8, Ria Heynen, Ottawa
June 9, Mary Ann Higgs, Kingston, Sue Goldstein, Toronto
June 10, Rev. Karen Rodman, Ottawa
June 11, Linda Green, Ottawa
June 12, mandy hiscocks, Guelph, Sue Goldstein, Toronto
June 13, Kathleen Copps, Vancouver
June 14, David Heap, London, ON
June 15, Kelti Cameron, Ottawa
June 16, Sharry Aiken, Toronto
June 17, Bessa Whitmore, Ottawa
June 18, Daiva Stasiulis, Ottawa, Sue Goldstein, Toronto
No comments:
Post a Comment