Canada arrests synagogue bombing prime suspect

The prime suspect for the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue that killed four people and injured 20 others will appear in a Canadian court today.

Hassan Diab was arrested yesterday on a provisional extradition warrant at the request of French authorities, Canadian Justice Department spokesman Christian Girouard said.

Under Canadian law, France will have 45 days to provide further legal details to back up the extradition request.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl Jean Hainey said Diab, 55, was detained in at his home in Gatineau, Quebec – across the river from Ottawa.

Diab, a part-time sociology instructor at the University of Ottawa, was first named in French news reports last month. He said at the time he was a victim of mistaken identity.

Defence lawyer Rene Duval said his client was shocked by the arrest.

“This is someone who has no criminal record whatsoever,” said Mr Duval. He said Diab did not enter France in 1980.

“It’s a mistaken identification,” he said.

Michele Alliot-Marie, France’s interior minister, welcomed the arrest. In a statement, she credited the “excellent co-operation” between French police and intelligence services and Canadian authorities, but did not provide further details on the suspect.

Diab, of Palestinian origin, has Lebanese and Canadian passports and lived in the US for several years before moving to Canada, a French judicial official said.

He told French daily Le Figaro last month that he was a victim of mistaken identity and had nothing to do with the attack.

Anti-terrorist judges Marc Trevidic and Yves Jannier travelled to Canada at the beginning of the week to further their inquiry into the bombing, the judicial official said. Investigators were searching Diab’s home and office for clues including DNA samples.

On October 3 1980, a bomb containing pentrite – one of the most powerful high explosives known – and hidden in the saddlebags of a parked motorcycle exploded outside the synagogue of the conservative ULIF group as hundreds of worshippers were gathered inside for a Sabbath service.

Three Frenchmen and one Israeli woman were killed. Around 200,000 people later marched through the streets of Paris to protest against the attack.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-Special Operations was blamed at the time. Diab’s name was on a list of former members of the Palestinian extremist group obtained by German intelligence officials.