Carleton University Fires Professor Accused in Paris Bomb Plot

An Ottawa university has replaced a professor accused of involvement in a deadly Paris bombing nearly three decades ago. Hassan Diab was teaching a part-time summer course in sociology at Carleton University. He has been a Canadian citizen since 1993.

The university said it had hired Mr. Diab to teach in the summer session because of an unforeseen leave taken by the course’s original instructor.

Mr. Diab has maintained his innocence since he was arrested in late 2008. He was released on bail March 31, 2008, under strict conditions that include wearing a GPS-monitored ankle bracelet. A Canadian Jewish organization had criticized Mr. Diab’s hiring, saying that an alleged terrorist should not be teaching impressionable university students.

Mr. Diab is expected to face a hearing in January, when a judge will decide whether he should be sent to France to face allegations he participated in the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue that killed four people and wounded dozens of others. The university said the action was being taken “in the interest of providing its students with a stable, productive academic environment that is conducive to learning.” His colleagues at Carleton have issued several petition letters.

Share Button

Sources