Episode 5: The Detention

Summary

The Copernic Affair | Canadaland Investigates – Episode 5: The Detention

Release Date: February 12, 2025
Host/Author: Canadaland
Title: The Detention

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1. Introduction and Recap

“Last time on the Copernic Affair...”
Alex Atak (01:12): Recaps the arrest of Hassan Diab and the initiation of extradition hearings in Canada to determine whether Diab should be sent to France to stand trial for a 1980 synagogue bombing in Paris.

2. Extradition to France

“After Hassan Diyab's arrest, extradition hearings began in Canada...”
Alex Atak (01:16): Details the prolonged legal battle led by Diab’s legal team to prevent his extradition, highlighting their belief in Diab’s innocence and the unreliability of the evidence against him.

“They put me on the plane and here we go...”
Hassan Diab (02:25): Expresses his apprehension and the initial relief he felt when French authorities approved his extradition, underscoring the beginning of his ordeal.

3. Arrival and Initial Detention in France

“On November 14, 2014, Hassan Diab was flown from Montreal to Paris...”
Alex Atak (03:19): Chronicles Diab’s arrival in France, where he was met by French police and initially intended to be driven past the targeted synagogue as a provocation—a plan thwarted by Judge Mark Trevorick.

“It was cold and I had practically no clothes on me...”
Hassan Diab (04:00): Describes the harsh conditions upon his arrival, including inadequate clothing and the intimidating environment of Fleury-Merogé detention center.

4. Legal Representation and Extradition Hearings

“Stephane Bonifasi is the first lawyer Hassan Diab hired...”
Dana Boulut (04:38): Introduces Stephane Bonifasi, an experienced lawyer who took on Diab’s case, emphasizing the historical significance of the 1980 Copernic Synagogue attack in France.

“Clearly, the case presented by the Republic of France against Mr. Diab is a weak case...”
Stephane Bonifasi (06:05): Highlights the Canadian judge’s assessment of the French case against Diab, pointing out the lack of direct evidence and the improbability of conviction in a fair trial.

5. Life in Fleury-Merogé Detention Center

“No one expects prison conditions to be pleasant, but Hassan Diab's situation was particularly bleak...”
Dana Boulut (12:17): Describes Diab’s grim living conditions, including solitary confinement for nearly 20 hours a day and interactions with unsavory inmates.

“They would turn the light on every hour, day and night...”
Hassan Diab (13:03): Recounts the psychological torment inflicted by prison guards, leading to severe sleep deprivation and hallucinations.

“The only thing I did was like, when they sent me out for two hours every day, I would keep running...”
Hassan Diab (14:34): Discusses his coping mechanisms, such as running incessantly during limited outdoor time to maintain mental resilience.

6. Support and Advocacy in Canada

“When a Canadian is wrongfully detained overseas, the Prime Minister must use the full power of their office to intervene...”
Stephane Bonifasi (16:41): Calls for governmental intervention, reflecting the efforts of Diab’s support group to keep the case in the public eye through rallies and video appeals.

“By 2015, some of Canada's biggest human rights organizations began supporting Hassan Diab, including Amnesty International...”
Dana Boulut (17:01): Chronicles the growing support from prominent organizations and activists pushing for Diab’s release.

7. Change of Judges and Reassessment

“They changed the judge...”
Hassan Diab (18:21): Announces a pivotal shift in the case with the replacement of Judge Mark Trevorick, introducing new investigative judges Richard Folzer and Jean Marc Ebot.

“The judges agreed that intelligence reports naming Hassan Diab as one of the bombers were not credible...”
Dana Boulut (25:26): Details how the new judges critically evaluated the evidence, uncovering documents and testimonies that undermined the initial accusations against Diab.

“In the end, they decided the evidence against Hassan Diab was insufficient...”
Alex Atak (27:13): Reports the judges' concluding decision to release Diab due to the lack of substantial evidence linking him to the Copernic attack.

8. Release and Aftermath

“The news of Hassan's release came through on Friday...”
Alex Atak (27:41): Describes the dramatic final hours leading to Diab’s release, including his frantic attempt to gather personal belongings and the chaotic scenes at the prison.

“By the afternoon Hassan Diab was released...”
Dana Boulut (29:05): Illustrates Diab’s triumphant yet exhausted return to Canada, marked by emotional reunions and media attention.

“Justice has finally prevailed...”
Hassan Diab (32:42): Shares his relief and hope during a press conference, acknowledging the support from Amnesty International and highlighting the ordeal he endured without facing formal charges.

“This is something that obviously was an...”
Dana Boulut (33:41): Reflects on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s public acknowledgment of the injustice faced by Diab, reinforcing the need to scrutinize extradition laws.

9. Ongoing Legal Battles and Future Implications

“On Monday, France's top court put Hassan on trial...”
Stephane Bonifasi (34:30): Provides an update on the resurgence of legal proceedings against Diab, despite his previous release, signaling ongoing challenges in his quest for complete exoneration.

“If it wasn't enough, I don't think they will be satisfied...”
Hassan Diab (34:42): Expresses frustration over continued legal pressures and the emotional toll of revisiting the case years later.

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Notable Quotes

• Hassan Diab (02:25): “They put me on the plane and here we go. It's like you feel or you wish. If the plane goes down, I don't care anymore...”
  Captures Diab’s emotional state upon extradition.

• Stephane Bonifasi (06:05): “The prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial seem unlikely...”
  Highlights the weak evidence against Diab as perceived by Canadian judicial authorities.

• Hassan Diab (13:03): “They would turn the light on every hour, day and night...”
  Describes the inhumane conditions endured during detention.

• Hassan Diab (32:42): “Justice has finally prevailed. I can start with this. Miracles can happen.”
  Reflects on his release and the hope for justice.

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Conclusion

Episode 5, The Detention, delves deep into Hassan Diab’s harrowing experience in French custody following his extradition from Canada. It chronicles the insufferable conditions he faced, the relentless legal battles, and the steadfast support from Canadian activists and human rights organizations. The episode also underscores the critical examination of international extradition laws and the profound personal toll such legal entanglements can have on an individual and their family.

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This summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions from Episode 5: The Detention of The Copernic Affair by Canadaland Investigates, providing a comprehensive overview for listeners and non-listeners alike.

Transcript

[Hassan Diab]

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[Dana Boulut]

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[Hassan Diab]

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[Alex Atak]

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[Hassan Diab]

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[Stephane Bonifasi]

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[Hassan Diab]

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[Dana Boulut]

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[Alex Atak]

Last time on the Kopernick Affair.

[Hassan Diab]

We said, thank God. That's what we said, that they caught this person.

[Alex Atak]

After Hassan Diyab's arrest, extradition hearings began in Canada to decide if he should be sent to France to stand trial. His legal team fought for years to stop that from happening. It was only when we got into.

[Hassan Diab]

The details of the case, we saw that none of this was reliable evidence.

[Alex Atak]

As all the evidence was laid out in front of the courtroom, more people started to ask questions and to come out in support of Hassan Diab.

[Dana Boulut]

There is no proof that he was.

[Hassan Diab]

There when the horrendous crime took place. My son was a student at Carleton.

[Dana Boulut]

And he heard about it.

[Hassan Diab]

He called me, told me about it.

[Dana Boulut]

Mom, he says, this doesn't make any sense. Extradition should never happen in the face of counter proof.

[Hassan Diab]

There were two or three key pieces.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

Of evidence that not only didn't add.

[Hassan Diab]

Up, it came to a point where I just couldn't believe that people didn't.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

Understand that this was not the guy.

[Alex Atak]

Even so, after one of the longest extradition hearings in Canadian history, the Justice Minister approved the extradition and Hassan Diab was put on a plane to France at night.

[Hassan Diab]

They put me on the plane and here we go. It's like you feel or you wish. If the plane goes down, I don't care anymore. Now I Must admit that I was happy and all the policemen who dealt with the case were very happy, very exciting, etc. And I say, no, be careful. It's just the beginning. It's not the end for us.

[Dana Boulut]

I'm Dana Boulut. I'm Alex Atak from Canadaland. This is the copernic affair.

[Alex Atak]

On November 14, 2014, Hassan Diab was flown from Montreal to Paris on an Air France flight, accompanied by Canadian RCMP officers.

[Dana Boulut]

Do you remember what time you arrived in France?

[Hassan Diab]

Very early morning. In the early morning of the November.

[Alex Atak]

15, he was met by French police on the tarmac. According to Mark Trevorick, the judge in charge of the case, the police wanted to drive Hassan to the detention centre via Copenik street, forcing him to look at the synagogue he'd allegedly targeted in the attack. It was meant as a kind of jab. Mark Trevdick told them no. And Hassan was driven a different route to a prison just outside of Paris.

[Hassan Diab]

It was cold and I had practically no clothes on me, except maybe jeans, a T shirt and a jacket. And practically nothing more than that.

[Alex Atak]

You didn't pack a bag or they didn't allow you to bring a bag from Canada or anything? 0 Fleurie Merogy, one of Europe's largest detention centres, is known for housing some of France's most high profile and dangerous inmates. And now Hassan Diab was among them.

[Hassan Diab]

Can I just ask you not to tap too much on the table?

[Stephane Bonifasi]

Okay, I'll try, I'll try. Remind me. Yeah, I'm used to banging on the tables when I argue a case.

[Dana Boulut]

Stephane Bonifasi is the first lawyer Hassan Diab hired to represent him in France.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

Been in practice for more than 30 years now. When I was a lawyer for Hassan, it was a little less. Extradition is something I've done in the past. And so he felt that I would be a good one to help him with this case. So that's how I got involved.

[Dana Boulut]

And he remembers the 1980 attack on the Copernic Synagogue very well, more than 40 years ago.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

I was a teenager then and I remember we had demonstrations in France. People were in the streets. That was an awakening, I would say.

[Dana Boulut]

So in 2014, when he took on the case, Stephane Bonifasi knew how historically important it was in France. But he also had reservations about the evidence presented to extradite Hassan's yab.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

Yes, well, clearly, clearly there was no direct evidence against Hassan. And I think that the Canadian judge in charge of the case summed it up. Well, you know, he said the case presented by the Republic of France against Mr. Diab is a weak case. The prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial seem unlikely.

[Dana Boulut]

But he was familiar with Mark Trevoric, the French judge responsible for Hassan Diab's extradition. He also knew that Trevudik had a reputation as a stubborn investigator, and he worried that he was too laser focused on getting the case to trial.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

Well, they would hate this, but at the end of the day, investigating judges are prosecutors, right? That's what I think. And yeah, admittedly they can be very good judges. But at the end of the day, I think the job is about bringing cases to court. Look, the case at stake is horrendous, right? The facts that we are talking about, even if they took place a very long time ago, are still in our memories. And the fact that Mark Trevidick feels strongly about it, you know, is no surprise. Let's understand that Mark Trevidick purpose was to fight terrorism in France. That's his goal. And, you know, I haven't got an issue with that. I guess he felt he had a case. I don't think he had a case, but he felt differently.

[Dana Boulut]

Mark Trevoric had spent years waiting for a chance to sit down with Hassan Diab face to face, to interrogate him in person about the Kopernik attack. And now finally that moment had arrived.

[Hassan Diab]

And they're like to go to see that great buffoon investigative judge.

[Dana Boulut]

Clearly, Hassan Diab was not a fan.

[Hassan Diab]

You know, he had this big tunnel vision and he was very overzealous.

[Dana Boulut]

Mark Chavedic was, after all, the man who had spent years pursuing his extradition.

[Hassan Diab]

He wanted me there badly, but he had no choice.

[Dana Boulut]

And a date was set for Hassan to be brought to a courthouse in the center of Paris. His lawyer, Stephane Boniface, was with him.

[Hassan Diab]

So it was an office on the, who knows, fourth, fifth floor, One of those old, very old buildings in Paris where you go, there are underground tunnels where there are mice and stuff like that. And you go into this tower, like style. The stairs are, if I remember, I counted them many times, 130 stairs or something, you know, spiral stairs. And you go to his office from the back side while other people go from elevators and stuff like that.

[Dana Boulut]

Inside the office, they sat down and Trevedik began his questioning.

[Alex Atak]

But Stefan Bonifasi had a plan.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

And clearly we said, look, we are not going to answer.

[Alex Atak]

He'd prepared Hassan Diab with a stock response to any and every question he was asked. A line from the Canadian extradition judge's report, Quote, the Case presented by the Republic of France against Mr. Diab is a weak case. The prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial seem unlikely and therefore.

[Hassan Diab]

Leave us alone. I'm not talking to you.

[Alex Atak]

You were just told to say that in response to any questions.

[Hassan Diab]

Yeah, I said this from the beginning.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

I strongly recommended him to make that choice. That was not his choice. Oh, we agreed together, of course, but that was my recommendation, right. That he should remain silent. One of the main reason I wanted to speak to you is because of this choice Hassan made. Right. And I felt I had to tell it so that Hassan doesn't take the blame alone for having made that decision. Of course, he accepted my recommendation. But, you know, if you go to a lawyer that has these years of experience, the expected thing to do is to listen to him. So, yeah, I wanted to make that point. I think it was important. I didn't think that the way the case was positioned that anything he could say could change Trevudik's mind. And to the contrary, I believe that whatever Hassan could say would be retained against him. All they are doing by asking questions is trying to build up on what's a weak case. That's all they're doing.

[Hassan Diab]

And he was. I felt he wasn't happy with this because he wanted to, you know, claim the big victory.

[Alex Atak]

But did you want to? I mean, obviously, this is the first time you have a chance to talk to Trevadick.

[Hassan Diab]

Did you?

[Alex Atak]

Even if it was against your legal advice, did you want to just tell him, like, here is my side of the story?

[Hassan Diab]

You know, that's a good thing, because I thought of it a lot. But, you know, I will be in a big trap if I talk to this guy, because he can deny what I said, and then he can report only one side. And I saw it in his record of the case. In the record of the case, he didn't say the truth.

[Alex Atak]

Hassan had seen the record of Trevudik's case against him and felt like this judge was just determined to send him to trial, and there was nothing he could say to change that. So in that moment, following the advice of his lawyer, he decided that his best option was to not cooperate. How long does it last? With Trevuddick asking questions and Hassan not.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

Saying anything, I think it ended up almost there. Right. We stopped immediately.

[Alex Atak]

The meeting was frustrating for everyone involved. And immediately afterwards, Hassan was taken back to prison. After refusing to speak to Mark Trevedyk, Hassan's future in France remained unclear. He settled into his new reality at fleury Merogy, a massive complex that looks more like an airport terminal than a prison, except for the impossibly high walls that surround it on all sides. His cell was on the fourth floor in an isolated unit.

[Dana Boulut]

No one expects prison conditions to be pleasant, but Hassan Diab's situation was particularly bleak. He was locked up in a foreign country, in a high security prison, without friends and family nearby, and with rapists, con men and white collar criminals for neighbors.

[Hassan Diab]

I was discovering a new world, a new culture, a new, you know, system. And it wasn't easy at all. And it was depress, you know, all people would go to meet their families twice per week at least. And I had nobody to meet except the lawyer who would come to tell me what's going on.

[Dana Boulut]

He described being treated harshly by the prison guards.

[Hassan Diab]

They would turn the light on every hour, day and night. Like every hour or so, they turned the light on and they wake you up in the middle of the night. And sometimes they do it, especially some nasty guards, they make noise at the door like 1am, 2am, 3am, just to make sure that they wake you up.

[Alex Atak]

What was your mental state like during that time in the French prison?

[Hassan Diab]

Yeah, it was. You can't describe it easily, you know, it's a mumble jumble, like your head. You are in constant state of hallucination, if I may say. You can't close your eyes. You sleep while your eyes are open, half open, and you start hallucinating. No, God, this is a different person. Or, you know, you just see monsters and the world is like, not what you know.

[Dana Boulut]

Hassan told us he was in solitary confinement for nearly 20 hours a day.

[Hassan Diab]

The only thing I did was like, when they sent me out for two hours every day, I would keep running for the two hours non stop, even in the, you know, eight meters by five meters would run in like circle until they finished two hours.

[Alex Atak]

As days turned into months, Hassan's mental state spiraled. He shot himself off, refusing to speak with prison guards.

[Hassan Diab]

The point was for me not to show any weakness to these people who would enjoy it. I wouldn't even look them in the eye sometimes. Including the guards in France who would ask me, sometimes, you know, why you talk to me and you don't look me in the eye? I said, because I don't see you, you don't exist.

[Alex Atak]

He stopped eating the prison meals, which he believed were a way of controlling him, keeping him subordinate. Instead, he survived on very basic items that he bought in the canteen and prepared inside his cell, like yogurt.

[Hassan Diab]

Yeah. I started with the first yogurt and onions. It was red onions, but I put it in water for a long time. It would be sweeter. A kilo of onions every week, a kilo of bananas every week. Rice and yogurt and I don't know what that. And dandelion, you know? Dandelion?

[Dana Boulut]

Yeah.

[Hassan Diab]

What do we call it? Hindba. Thank you. I would find them around the building when we go down. Out of the building. I lost maybe £20 or more. It was like just nothing. The clothes I came with, I couldn't put them on again.

[Dana Boulut]

Hassan's deteriorating physical and mental state started to seriously worry his friends and family back home in Canada. His support group still met every week, strategizing ways to keep Hassan's case in the public eye.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

When a Canadian is wrongfully detained overseas, the Prime Minister must use the full power of their office to intervene.

[Dana Boulut]

Over the years, they held rallies, made video appeals.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

My name is Don Pratt.

[Dana Boulut]

I would like to talk with you about my good friend Hassan Diab.

[Hassan Diab]

This is the last person in the world who could have possibly done it.

[Dana Boulut]

And even gathered outside the Prime Minister's offices to get his attention.

[Hassan Diab]

We're actually inside the launch of An.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

Bloc, and we're trying to get a meeting with the Prime Minister or just get our date books out so that.

[Dana Boulut]

We can arrange a meeting with the Prime Minister.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

Because Hassan Diab has been held for.

[Hassan Diab]

30 months in a French.

[Alex Atak]

While he was in prison, Hassan's wife, Rania, spoke with the press often and even shared letters. He wrote to her.

[Hassan Diab]

Hope all is well with you all. I missed you tremendously. I could not take Zuza's absence. That's our daughter, Jana. My heart breaks when I remember her. My eyes are wet now. Kiss her good from me constantly. 100.

[Alex Atak]

And by 2015, some of Canada's biggest human rights organizations began supporting Hassan Diab, including Amnesty International.

[Dana Boulut]

This case has to rocket up to the top of the priority list as to issues that need to be addressed between Canada and France. Despite their best efforts, activism and public protests could only go so far. Supporters of Hassan Diab were asking the Canadian government to reverse an extradition that a Canadian justice Minister had already signed off on. It was a tall ask. But then, 11 months into his detention, Hassan Diab got some important news.

[Hassan Diab]

Bang. They changed the judge.

[Dana Boulut]

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[Alex Atak]

By 2015, Mark Trevorick's term as investigative judge in the anti terrorism unit was drawing to a close.

[Hassan Diab]

It was a law, so of course I would never have quit antiterrorism at this period. But in August 2015, I was obliged to leave.

[Alex Atak]

The position is a fixed term job and it only lasts 10 years.

[Dana Boulut]

That must have been hard to leave.

[Hassan Diab]

This job and the cases and Copernic and the other cases. It was very hard for me. But it's a law. I'm a judge and it's the law. What do you want to do?

[Alex Atak]

When his term ended, Mark Trevdick was replaced by two investigative judges who took over the Copenik case.

[Dana Boulut]

By this point, Hassan Diab was on the hunt for a new lawyer too. He felt like Stefan Boniface wasn't giving his case enough attention, so he started looking for a replacement.

[Hassan Diab]

I had to interview a few lawyers before they took over because I didn't want to repeat the same mistake. I said, yes, it's my life, guys. If you don't know how to save my life, I don't want you. So I wanted somebody who has more connections to the circle of the judges and other top lawyers.

[Dana Boulut]

In the end, he hired a man named William Bourdon, who called him up around a month later with some news.

[Hassan Diab]

He told me and he said, hassan, I want you to think this is a new judge. And he said, he will be open to. He will not start from prejudgments or whatever. I said, I don't trust him until I hear more about him. They said, yes, he's very fair. But, you know, knowing what I knew at the time, I said, there's nothing called fair judges in France.

[Dana Boulut]

Were you happy?

[Hassan Diab]

No, there's nothing called happy. Oh my goodness. That was the last thing I would have thought of. I was like, still full of like, no, no, no. These people are. I don't know which wolf will eat you at the end. They are all wolves for me.

[Alex Atak]

This time. There were two judges on the case, Richard Faltzer and Jean Marc Ebot. They declined our interview requests, which wasn't a huge surprise because they rarely speak to the media. There are very few traces of them online, no newspaper write UPS radio features or talk show interviews, barely even a picture of what they look like. Folzer and Herbeau seemed like the polar opposite of the previous judge, Mark Trevedick, who was a media darling. Trevedick told us that when it's time to hand your cases over to another judge, there's sometimes an informal meeting or a phone call just to get the newcomer up to speed. But neither Erbo nor Faltzer called.

[Hassan Diab]

He never asked me questions about the case. I respect that my colleague didn't want to have my point of view. I can understand that. I think he didn't want to be influenced by me. That's all.

[Alex Atak]

We can't know for sure why neither of these new judges called Mark Trevudik for his insight on the case, given he'd worked on it for nearly a decade. But we do know what they wrote in court documents.

[Dana Boulut]

Overall, Judge Agbo praised Mark Trevdick's work. But it had been almost a year since Hassan Diab was extradited and he had yet to face trial. So Erbaut felt some urgency to reach a decision because, he wrote, the case was old, serious, and there is a man in prison. While Hassan Diab was advised to remain silent in his interviews with Trevoric, this time, his new lawyer recommended he talk, and he listened. On a cold January day, he was taken into the same office in the center of Paris where he first met with Mark Chavedic, through the tunnels, up the spiral staircase and into what was now Judge Herbo's office.

[Hassan Diab]

The translator was there. I would understand sometimes part of the question, sometimes not, because I have already spent one year and more in jail, learned some more French. He was clear with his questions and he was thorough, very smart, not like your average judge in France. I was shocked, like, to see the guy was, like, on top of everything. And then I had this ambivalent kind of feeling about him, like, is he acting or he's pretending to be fair.

[Alex Atak]

You didn't know if you could trust him.

[Hassan Diab]

No, you don't. You know, you are. In this situation, whom do you trust? And I said, guys, I will give you a chance. I will talk to you. I hope you're not biased. And I talked to them. They interrogated me for three different days.

[Dana Boulut]

After more than a year in prison in France, six years of extradition hearings. Before that, years of surveillance and several months in a Canadian jail, this was the first time Hassan Diab sat down and agreed to share his side of the story with a French judge.

[Alex Atak]

Not only did Hassan Diab Start talking. But someone else did too.

[Dana Boulut]

Herbaud. What was he like? He looked very professional to me, as I would expect a judge. You know, you just sit there and listen and don't show any reactions, neither good nor bad. Just listen and ask the questions. So his demeanor was, for me, more professional.

[Alex Atak]

Seven years after following legal advice to not answer Mark Trevudik's questions, when Hassan was first arrested, Noel Copte was willing to cooperate with these new judges. She told us she'd always felt like it was a mistake to not talk when she was asked before, and now this was her chance to go on the record with her version of events. She was asked to come to Paris and talk to the judges in person, and she did, this time without a lawyer. She paid for her own flight and was interviewed for two days.

[Dana Boulut]

The judges found Noel Kupti and Hassan Diab's cooperation notable in Erbo's testimony. He described Hassan as willing to answer all his questions, even those that made him uncomfortable. He said sometimes a suspect's statements change the face of the case. And frankly, this was the case. During Hassan Diab's interrogations, he gave me more or less credible explanations which could not be dismissed out of hand.

[Alex Atak]

Erbo and Falzer were the ones who uncovered those documents from the Lebanese University which confirmed Hassan Diab's exams did take place in October 1980, right around the time of the bombing, and that he passed those exams. The judges also collected testimony from former classmates who vouched for Hassan being in Lebanon for the exams. They also said they didn't remember him traveling anywhere during that time.

[Dana Boulut]

There were other points too. Similar to Don Baines arguments during the extradition hearings, the judges agreed that those intelligence reports that named Hassan Diab as one of the bombers were not credible. They wrote that the reports sometimes contradicted themselves or just contained outright falsehoods. We mentioned this last episode, that we've seen one of these reports for ourselves, and it's true, it does contain several basic mistakes.

[Alex Atak]

The judges also didn't fully trust the testimony from Yusuf Al Khalil, Hassan Diab's former friend, who'd said that he was a member of a political party linked to the pflp. And they also found contradictions in Yusuf Al Khalil's testimony, which they said seriously called his credibility into question. And they pointed out that even if there was evidence that Hassan Diab had been involved with the pflp, this didn't tie him directly to the Kopenik attack.

[Dana Boulut]

Erban and Folzer also expressed regret that some procedural mistakes were made over the years. For instance, more DNA evidence could have been gathered after the bombing, but wasn't.

[Alex Atak]

The judges did have some reservations. They brought up Jean Chichizola. The French reporter who travelled to Canada, told Hassan he was a suspect in the Copenik case and wrote an article about it. If he was guilty, they wrote, Hassan Diab had almost a year between Chichizola's visit and his arrest to hide any incriminating evidence.

[Dana Boulut]

Jean Marc Erbau and Richard Folzer spent two years investigating this case. In the end, they decided the evidence against Hassan Diab was insufficient. The last line of their report reads in bold, we order accordingly the immediate release of Hassan Naim Diab.

[Hassan Diab]

The story of the January 12.

[Dana Boulut]

January 12, 2018. More than three years after his extradition and just two days after the order of dismissal, one of Hassan Diab's lawyers, Apolline Cagnat, called him to break the news.

[Hassan Diab]

Hey, what happened? She said, we got the decision this morning actually, but we couldn't convey it to you. So what happened? She said, it's non lieu in French they call it or they dropped the charges. I said, what do you mean, Hassan? They dropped the charges. Said, could you repeat it again? I didn't believe her.

[Dana Boulut]

Hassan says he went back to his cell in a frenzy, rushing to gather all his things, mainly books and journals.

[Hassan Diab]

Collected over the years, the letters from Canada. The most important thing was the letters and the diary. I don't want to leave before I, you know, make sure that I got everything. And I wanted to give the stuff to other inmates.

[Alex Atak]

He waited in his cell, ready to go. Hours passed.

[Hassan Diab]

12 something. They came, their guard. I heard chuk, chuk, chuk in the door. And he opened the door. He didn't say, you are free or anything. He didn't say a word. I was sitting on the bed, little bed, you know, metal, with the bags.

[Alex Atak]

He got up and followed the guard as they walked by. Another inmate noticed and called out to him.

[Hassan Diab]

He said, hasan Wah, are you out? I said, yes. And he started banging on the heavy metal door. Liberty, Liberty. The whole floor was bang, bang. Liberty to the point. We were on the fourth floor. And the banging of the door with big sound and noise brought all the guards. They came from the third floor, second floor, all the guards ready to maybe 15, 20 guards coming to see what's happening. And these people didn't stop.

[Alex Atak]

Liberty, Hassan.

[Hassan Diab]

Liberty. Bang, bang, Liberty.

[Dana Boulut]

It's a very dramatic scene Hassan describes, like something out of a movie. We spoke to another prisoner who was there at the time. He doesn't recall the details, but does remember the chanting.

[Alex Atak]

By the afternoon Hassan Diab was released. He showed us a couple of pictures from that day. In one of them, he's standing in front of the prison fence wearing a scarf and a black puffer jacket. His hands are on his waist. He looks gaunt, a little shell shocked, but also triumphant. In another photo, he's standing with his legal team. They're holding up wine glasses, celebrating. A few hours later, he was on a flight out of Paris, escorted by officials from the Canadian embassy in France. The details of his flight were kept secret in case the press caught on and somehow disrupted his return.

[Dana Boulut]

The plane flew from Paris to Reykjavik, Iceland. One Canadian official offered Hassan her first class seat and moved back to his seat in economy.

[Hassan Diab]

So we go to Iceland with the ambassador waiting for me at the airport. I said, since when? Everybody knows me now, Everybody loves me.

[Dana Boulut]

And then from Iceland to Toronto, Toronto.

[Hassan Diab]

Airport, then to Ottawa. And the Canadian police are helping me with moving from one place to another.

[Alex Atak]

Hassan Diab's supporters gather at the arrival section of Ottawa's airport just after midnight, waiting for his flight to land.

[Hassan Diab]

The news of Hassan's release came through on Friday.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

And here we are on late Monday night.

[Hassan Diab]

Is it really happening? Is he here? So there was that, that feeling, excitement.

[Alex Atak]

Roger Clark, a former head of Amnesty International in Canada, was there among the crowd.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

Rania and the two kids were there.

[Hassan Diab]

They had flowers with them, roses, I think. Both of the kids were carrying a big bunch of roses. And everybody was looking up the escalator that comes down from the arrivals area. And then suddenly there he is.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

You know, it's almost felt like a.

[Hassan Diab]

Miracle that there was Hassan, cheerful, coming down the elevator with his scarf around. And so. Hello. Welcome home.

[Dana Boulut]

Welcome.

[Hassan Diab]

How are you doing? So glad to see you. I never thought this would happen. There's really no way to sort of.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

Explain or to even describe the joy that we felt.

[Alex Atak]

A few days later, Hassan Diab gave a press conference at the Amnesty International offices. He wore that same scarf, but this time with a suit and a tie. He looked tired but happy.

[Hassan Diab]

Justice has finally prevailed. I can start with this. Miracles can happen. Still these days.

[Dana Boulut]

Alex Neave, who headed up Amnesty International Canada at the time, sat next to him.

[Hassan Diab]

And it's one of those moments in.

[Dana Boulut]

My decades of human rights work that I'll never forget. One of those, those precious moments where you have a sense of victory, a sense of jubilation, a sense of at the end of the day, yes, you know, you stick with it long enough, you persevere and justice does prevail. That is Hassan Diab speaking publicly today for the first time just after leaving France. Hassan Diab's return sparked a media frenzy in Canada. In the end, it was a lack of evidence that prompted a frequency French judge to let Diab go. Now his lawyer wants Canada to take a long hard look at our extradition laws. He had one of the best lawyers in Canada working for him for free for nine years, more than a million dollars in free legal bills and an army of supporters.

[Hassan Diab]

And he still spent 38 months in.

[Dana Boulut]

A French prison without ever facing a charge. And in a major win for Hassan Diab, a few months after he was released, the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, publicly commented on his case. I think for Sandiab, we have to recognize first of all that what happened to him never should have happened.

[Alex Atak]

This is something that obviously was an.

[Dana Boulut]

Extremely difficult situation to go through for himself or his family. We all, I think, really felt like that was the end. I think there was this sense of confidence that surely now, no matter what continued to happen in the French legal system, everything was going to go in his favor. And how wrong we were. Next time on the Copernic Affair.

[Stephane Bonifasi]

On Monday, France's top court put Hassan.

[Dana Boulut]

Diab on trial in connection with a 43 year old bombing attack outside a Paris synagogue. This trial comes five years after a lower court set Diab free.

[Hassan Diab]

I was in France for more than three years and I told my story to the professional judges, not to the circus media style trial and court. If it wasn't enough, I don't think they will be satisfied. He says that it was a real.

[Dana Boulut]

Disgrace that Hassan Diab didn't come to court.

[Hassan Diab]

Normally that wouldn't be allowed to happen. The whole thing was very emotional. I mean to come to a French court 40 something years after the attack. We all felt that after so many.

[Dana Boulut]

Years, at last someone takes this attack more seriously. And finally we have some sort of procedures here.

[Hassan Diab]

Well, there wasn't anybody from France there for Hassan. Yeah, it was just us, just the two of us.

[Dana Boulut]

I think it was important for me to go and say what I know about Hassan and tell them the facts. The Copernic Affair is a production of Canadaland in partnership with House of Many Windows. The series is written and produced by me, Dana Belut and Alex Atak. Our editor is Julie Shapiro. Additional production by Nurazriu Additional research Production and translation support by Kathryn Bennett Sound design and mixing by Resonant Fields Audio Original music by the Tiebreakers. Our artwork is by Tony Wong. Our executive producers are Jesse Brown and Julie Shapiro, and Jesse Brown is Canadaland's publisher and editor. Special thanks to Jonathan Najarian and Antonia Kerrigan. If you can't wait to hear what happens next, become a [e-mail] join to listen to every episode of the Copernic Affair early and ad free right now. You'll also be helping vital independent journalism along the way. You can also listen early and ad free by subscribing to Canadaland Beyond Channel on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon Music included with Prime. Thank you for listening. If you want to help, the best thing you can do is spread the word, let people know about this show, share it on social and encourage people to support work like ours. To get people excited about Boost Mobile's.

[Alex Atak]

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[Dana Boulut]

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[Hassan Diab]

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[Dana Boulut]

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[Hassan Diab]

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[Dana Boulut]

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[Hassan Diab]

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[Hassan Diab]

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[Dana Boulut]

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