June 8, 2021, OTTAWA—The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) is expressing its deep condolences to the Afzaal and Salman families, their surviving child, the Muslim community in London, ON, and the broader Muslim community across Canada. “The heinous, hate-based and shocking attack on Sunday night shakes us to the core and is a reminder of how much we must continue to do to fight Islamophobia and white supremacy in Canada,” said ICLMG national coordinator Tim McSorley.

That this comes after the hate-based murder of six Muslim men at the Quebec City Mosque in 2017, the murder of Mohamed-Aslim Zafis in front of the IMO mosque in Toronto in 2020, as well as the horrendous discovery of the graves of 215 Indigenous children outside of a former residential school in Kamloops, BC, the sentencing of the killer of Barbara Kentner yesterday, the wave of anti-Asian hate throughout the pandemic, and ongoing acts of anti-Semitism, makes it clear this is not an isolated hate-based incident nor something that “is not Canada.” White supremacist violence is a threat that must be urgently addressed.

In ICLMG’s work on the impacts of anti-terrorism laws and policies, from the War on Terror (including in Iraq and Afghanistan) to security certificates, to profiling at the border, to surveillance in the community and on campuses, we see on an almost daily basis how systemic racism serves to continue the targeting of Muslim Canadians. This has led to a tunnel vision that has long ignored the threat that violent white supremacists pose to our society. We also see how this problematic approach helps feed the fear, hatred, xenophobia and Islamophobia that lead to attacks like we have seen in London.

While the federal government has pledged to act to address white supremacist and hate-based violence, action has been slow to come. Outside of government, other major political parties have opposed action on systemic racism and the recognition that Islamophobia is a real and urgent threat. We support the call from the National Council of Canadian Muslims, a long-standing member of our coalition, for a National Action Summit on Islamophobia.

We also encourage people across Canada to show their support of the Muslim community and their opposition to hate and Islamophobia by attending the many outdoor vigils being organized across the country (all while respecting the appropriate public health measures like masking and social distancing). Individuals can also support the surviving child orphaned in this attack by donating here: https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/london_community_united_against_hate.

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More information:
Tim McSorley, ICLMG National Coordinator: 613-241-5298 or national.coordination@iclmg.ca

For immediate release – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must immediately, and in the strongest and clearest terms, speak up for the rights of Canadian Hassan Diab and promise to refuse any potential extradition request from France, says the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG).

“Today’s decision from the Cour de Cassation in France, upholding the decision to send Dr. Diab to trial, is utterly shocking and unexplainable. It is clear the court is putting politics above justice,” said Tim McSorley, national coordinator of the ICLMG, a coalition of 45 Canadian civil society groups.

The original order on Jan. 27, 2021, by the French Court of Appeal that Dr. Diab must stand trial has been denounced as misrepresenting evidence, misstating facts, relying on discredited evidence and engaging in contradictory reasoning. These issues have been clearly documented Don Bayne, Dr. Diab’s lawyer. Even the French government’s avocate générale advised against the Cour de Cassation upholding the Court of Appeal’s decision, due to its contradictory reasoning and failure to address important issues raised by the defense.

“With so many troubling issues in the French courts regarding Hassan Diab’s case, it is impossible to trust that he will receive a fair trial. What Canadians do have control over, though, is what happens in Canada. That is why we are calling on Prime Minister Trudeau today to state in the strongest possible terms to his French counterparts that the persecution of Hassan Diab must end. We are also calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to commit to no future extradition of Hassan Diab to France,” said McSorley. The ICLMG is urging the public to join them in this call by sending a message to the Prime Minister at https://iclmg.ca/diab-letter/.

In 2014, the judge presiding over Hassan’s extradition stated that the evidence against him was “illogical”, “very problematic,” and “convoluted,” and that the case presented little chance of conviction, but that the judge’s hands were tied by Canada’s permissive extradition laws.

Then in 2018, Prime Minister Trudeau stated that “what happened to [Hassan Diab] never should have happened” and that his government would “make sure that it never happens again.” It is time that Prime Minister Trudeau lives up to those words, and closes the door on any future requests from the French government in this case.

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More information:

Tim McSorley, ICLMG national coordinator: 613-241-5298