A Letter to the Carleton Community in Support of Dr. Hassan Diab
February 24th, 2025
In the adoption of the “Motion in support of Dr. Hassan Diab,” passed on December 19, 2024, CUASA’s Council have made a firm stand to support Dr. Diab. We thereby urge Carleton to safeguard Dr. Diab’s teaching contract(s) and to take measures to protect him and his family from harassment and threats on campus.
Dr. Hassan Diab, who is a Canadian citizen, a Contract Instructor here at Carleton and a CUPE 4600colleague, has faced renewed threats and harassment on campus in the recent weeks.
In 2014, Dr. Diab was extradited to France in connection with the antisemitic Paris Synagogue Bombing of 1980, detained for over three years, and subsequently released in 2018 unconditionally without charge when the French judicial authorities determined there was no evidence to justify putting Dr. Diab on trial. Upon Dr.Diab’s return to his home in Canada in 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated, “we have to recognize first of all that what happened to [Hassan Diab] never should have happened” and promised to “make sure that it never happens again”.
A special court in France in 2023 used formerly discredited and withdrawn evidence, in spite of testimonies of the investigative judges, to declare Dr. Diab guilty and sentenced him to life in prison, thereby creating thepossibility of Dr. Diab facing a second wrongful extradition. Dr. Diab’s case has significant implications foracademic freedom, human rights, and the principle of protection against unjust legal persecution.
We join CUPE 4600 and other campus organizations to call on Carleton University to safeguard Dr. Diab’s teaching contract(s) and protect him and his family from further harassment and threats on campus. Carleton should be reminded that Dr. Diab is protected by his Collective Agreement rights and that the University has the responsibility to provide a safe and harassment free environment for all its members.
This letter is written at the direction of CUASA’s Council in accordance with the formal adoption of the following resolution of at the Council meeting of December 19, 2024: BE IT RESOLVED THAT CUASA issues a statement in support of Dr. Hassan Diab and urges Carleton to safeguard Dr. Diab’s teaching contract(s) and to take measures to protect him and his family from harassment and threats on campus.
