A Lebanese-Canadian academic who is the sole suspect in a 1980 bombing outside a Paris synagogue was tried in absentia Monday, nearly 43 years after four people were killed and 46 wounded in the unclaimed attack.
French authorities identified Hassan Diab as a suspect in 1999. He They accuse of planting the bomb on the night of October 3, 1980, in front of the synagogue where 320 faithful had gathered to mark the end of a Jewish holiday.
Diab, 69, has denied involvement in the attack and said he was at a university in Beirut at the time of the attack in western Paris. His supporters and lawyers in France and Canada say French judicial authorities have improperly targeted Diab as a victim of mistaken identity.
French investigators attributed the attack on the synagogue to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-Special Operations. Canada authorized Diab’s extradition to France in late 2014. He spent three years in pretrial detention, but anti-terrorism judges later ordered his release from French custody for lack of evidence and he returned to Canada.
France’s appeals court ruled in January 2021 that Diab should stand trial on terrorism-related charges. If convicted, he could receive life in prison. A verdict is expected on April 21.
Survivors of the attack and the families of the victims attended the first day of the trial in Paris on Monday. Prosecutor Benjamin Chambre said Diab’s absence is proof of “great cowardice in his behavior.”
“It is a serious abomination for justice and for the victims 43 years after the events,” added Chambre. Diab’s attorney, William Bourdon, said his client had “never run” from anything.
For the survivors, the long road to trial may delay justice, but at least they are not denied justice, their lawyers told The Associated Press. Lawyers for the victims say that the trial will serve as a deterrent to future terrorist acts and anti-Semitic sentiments.
“It is a positive development that the trial is taking place, even if he (the suspect) will not be present and even if he is acquitted,” said Bernard Cahen, a lawyer for two families who lost loved ones.
David Père, a lawyer for a 14-year-old victim who was celebrating his bar mitzvah at the time of the attack, said “the path of justice must be followed,” even after more than four decades of investigation and legal drama. There is a suspect in the attack, and Père said his client wants to hear what Diab has to say in court, if only through his lawyers.
“A terrorist attack is something that haunts you every day of your life,” Père said. “A trial is the result (of an attack), not revenge for it.”
(with information from AP)
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Source-www.infobae.com