Unfair coverage of Hassan Diab case

"It is troubling that your article fails to highlight these crucial details, instead framing Dr. Diab’s situation in a way that reinforces unproven allegations through your clickbait headline and leading paragraph."


January 13, 2025

To: 

Rob Roberts, Editor-in-Chief, National Post

Tyler Dawson, Reporter, National Post

Mid-North Monitor

To the National Post and the Mid-North Monitor newsroom,

I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) to express concern over your article, "Man convicted of deadly synagogue bombing in France not teaching at Carleton this semester." Your coverage fails to critically assess the highly contentious legal case against Hassan Diab which is misleading, but goes against Canadian ethics in regard to law reporting, which undermines journalistic responsibility.

The article presents Dr. Diab as definitively guilty of the 1980 Paris synagogue bombing, overlooking substantial skepticism surrounding his conviction by French courts. Notably, organizations such as Amnesty International, the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, and other human rights scholars have criticized France's reliance on unsourced and anonymous intelligence in terrorism trials. The evidence used to extradite Dr. Diab such as discredited handwriting analysis has been widely debunked by independent experts. 

It is troubling that your article fails to highlight these crucial details, instead framing Dr. Diab’s situation in a way that reinforces unproven allegations through your clickbait headline and leading paragraph. 

Furthermore, your piece uncritically amplifies sensationalist rhetoric from organizations like B’nai Brith Canada, which referred to Dr. Diab as a terrorist in inflammatory terms. Quoting such one-sided accusations without balancing them with expert analysis or statements from human rights organizations compromises your report's fairness and neutrality.

It is not fair to exclude the perspectives of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, or the International Federation for Human Rights, while including non-expert testimonies from Elon Musk and Pierre Poilievre.

The National Post and other post-media papers running this story must mention the heavy amount of skepticism around Dr. Diab’s conviction by human rights groups and that his trial relied on discredited evidence and anonymous intelligence. You also need to incorporate viewpoints from credible organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which have condemned the judicial irregularities in this case. Avoid sensationalist and biased framing, such as terms like "terrorist," without providing proper context about the criticisms of the French judicial process, and impartiality as outlined by the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ).

Failure to act will leave me no choice but to file a formal complaint to the National News Media council or the Quebec Press Council.

Anthony Issa

Media Analyst
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)