Lawsuit by Hassan Diab over 2014 extradition to France discontinued with prejudice

TORONTO, Aug. 25, 2023 /CNW/ - In early 2020, Hassan Diab began a lawsuit in Ontario alleging that he had been treated unfairly by Canada, including by Crown lawyers, in relation to France's request to have Mr. Diab extradited to France. One of the crown lawyers whose conduct was impugned was Jeffery Johnston, General Counsel with the Department of Justice (Canada).

Earlier today, Mr. Diab (and other member of his family) discontinued unconditionally the action against Mr. Johnston. This brings Mr. Diab's legal challenges to his extradition to a conclusive end.

"Mr. Diab received due process prior to his extradition in accordance with the Extradition Act and the Charter. He was committed for extradition after a hearing that spanned ninety days—one of the longest such hearings in Canadian history," said Scott Hutchison, one of Mr. Johnston's lawyers.

Mr. Hutchison added, "We are pleased that Mr. Diab has decided to discontinue his action against Mr. Johnston, which in our respectful view should never have been brought in the first place."

Mr. Johnston stated, "This action has impacted my personal and professional well-being. I am pleased that with this discontinuance the record is clear. Neither I, nor any of my colleagues in the extradition proceedings, did anything other than our duty. I look forward to continuing to serve all Canadians".

During the committal proceeding, Mr. Diab repeatedly challenged the fairness of the process. He twice alleged abuse of process impugning the conduct of Department of Justice counsel. Both applications were dismissed, and Mr. Diab decided not to appeal either decision.

When he did appeal and judicially reviewed his extradition on other grounds to the Court of Appeal, that court unanimously dismissed his appeal and judicial review application. The Supreme Court of Canada then denied leave. 

Separate and apart from this judicial confirmation that Mr. Diab's extradition was lawful, Murray Segal, a former Deputy Attorney General of Ontario, conducted an independent external review of Mr. Diab's extradition for the Canadian government.

Mr. Segal concluded that Mr. Johnston "acted in a manner that was ethical and consistent … with the law" and that "none of the criticisms lodged against [him] ha[d] any merit." Mr. Segal also noted that the Supreme Court of Canada has already upheld as "constitutionally sound" the process that resulted in Mr. Diab's extradition. He further concluded that the "repeated accusations" directed at Mr. Johnston's conduct remain "unwarranted and have unnecessarily and unfairly tarnished the work done by DOJ counsel." As Mr. Segal concluded, "While the criticism levied against … counsel during the extradition proceedings spilled out into the media, public opinion seems to have lost sight of the fact that: these issues were litigated; the judge did not find the conduct legally abusive; and the defence did not pursue abuse of process grounds on appeal."

Regrettably, notwithstanding these unequivocal findings, various parties, including the current Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, have made prejudicial and misinformed statements tending to unfairly impugn Mr. Johnston's conduct as counsel in the proceedings.  

Mr. Hutchison added, "With the termination of this lawsuit, and the outcome of the criminal proceedings in France, the unsubstantiated allegations about Mr. Johnston's role in this extradition should cease. Our hope is that Canada and the Department of Justice will publicly stand by Mr. Segal's findings that have vindicated Mr. Johnston". 

SOURCE Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP

Scott C. Hutchison, Partner, Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP, [email protected], 416.368.5000