Hassan Diab charged with 1st-degree murder in France

Hassan Diab was charged with first-degree murder andother offences in France on Saturday after being extradited inconnection with a decades-old terrorism case, and his lawyer saysthe former Ottawa sociology instructor is ready to prove in courtthere is no real evidence against him.

• Hassan Diab extradited to France Friday morning
• Hassan Diab loses Supreme Court bid to halt extradition

Diab was removed from Canada on Friday, a day after the Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal of the extradition order.

French authorities accuse Diab of involvement in the anti-Semitic 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue that killed four and injureddozens accusations he has long denied.

Diab's lawyer, Stephane Bonifassi, said there was "no doubt" the 60-year-old Canadian citizen would be charged after landing on French soil. He said his client is ready to prove his innocence incourt.

"My client is in good spirits and I would say in combativespirits," Bonifassi said in an interview from Paris. "We willfight the charges and hopefully the fact that there is no evidenceagainst my client will prevail and he will be setfree."

Diabalso faces charges of attempted first-degree murder anddestruction of property with explosive or incendiary substance,Bonifassi said.

Bonifassi said the case is currently in the hands of a judge,whose investigation will decide whether the matter should head totrial a process that is expected to take up to 18 months.

Ontario judge calls case against Diabweak

Diab's Canadian lawyers, in submissions to the Supreme Court,questioned France's use of secret information against him and the reliability of evidence that has been revealed especiallyhandwriting on a hotel registration card allegedlypenned by Diab.

Keeping with standard practice, the court gave no reason for denyingDiab's appeal.

Diab's defence will focus on the veracity of the evidence,Bonifassi said.

"We want a trial to prove that, once again, the dossier isempty."

In a statement after the Supreme Court decision, Diab describedhis life of late as a Kafkaesque nightmare and promised to neverstop fighting to win his return to the country he calls home.

Diab will remain in pretrial detention until a decision is madeon his case, Bonifassi said. He added that Diab has not yet contacted his wife and children back in Canada, but was assured hewould be given a chance to speak with them.

The RCMP arrested Diab, a Canadian of Lebanese descent, inNovember 2008 in response to a request by France.

In June 2011, an Ontario Superior Court judge committed Diab forextradition despite acknowledging the case against him was weak, andthe following April then-justice minister Rob Nicholson signed anextradition order surrendering Diab to France decisions that wereupheld by the Ontario Court of Appeal and left untouched by theSupreme Court of Canada.