Man convicted of killing 4 in Paris Synagogue bombing teaches 'social justice' at Carleton University in Canada

A man convicted of killing four people in a Paris synagogue bombing has been working as a professor in Canada. Hassan Niam Diab, 70, was convicted of terrorism charges in French court in 2023. Despite the conviction, Diab has continued teaching "social justice" classes at Carleton University in Ottawa. He was sentenced to life in prison and has been awaiting extradition to France.

Conservative lawmakers and concerned Jewish community members sounded the alarm about the matter, which captured the attention of American mogul Elon Musk.

"A mass murderer is living free as a professor in Canada?" Musk wrote on X, sharing a post from Pierre Poilivere, the Conservative Party Leader and  candidate challenging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the upcoming October election. Poilivere questioned why Diab has yet to be extradited, saying the convicted terrorist has been "living freely in Canada" and working with young impressionable minds.

Hassan Niam Diab was found guilty of being involved in the 1980 Rue Copernic bombing in Paris, which killed four people and injured more than 40 others. Diab has maintained innocence and his lawyers claimed he was in Lebanon at the time and was the victim of a mistaken identity. The Rue Copernic bombing was the largest antisemitic attack in France since World War II, per the National Post.

Following an investigation spanning several decades, Diab was convicted by a French court in April 2023. He was absent during the court proceedings and remained in Canada.

In November 2008, the RCMP arrested Diab and imposed strict parole conditions until his extradition to France in 2014, where he was held in prison for more than three years. Diab was released in January 2018 after French judges determined the evidence against him was insufficient to proceed to trial. More than 20 French civil rights groups opposed his release, the CBC reported.

French prosecutors filed to appeal Diab's release, and France's high court ruled the case could proceed in 2021. Due to delays because of the pandemic, the case went to trial in 2023.

France issued an order for his arrest. Diab has not yet been extradited and it remains unclear why.