Canadian media fight publication ban in Paris bombing case

CBC and several other media outlets are contesting a ban on the publication of documents and evidence in the court case of an Ottawa professor accused in a deadly bombing outside a Paris synagogue in 1980.

CBC, Le Droit, La Presse and the Ottawa Citizen were to argue Thursday before the Ontario Superior Court against the media ban imposed by Justice Michel Charbonneau in the case of 55-year-old Hassan Diab.

Diab, who taught sociology at both the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, was arrested in Gatineau on Nov. 13 at the request of French authorities, who accuse him of making and planting a bomb that killed four people and injured 20 others on Oct. 3, 1980. An extradition hearing is needed to determine if he should be released to French officials as requested by France.

Edith Cody-Rice, a lawyer for CBC/Radio Canada, said the reason for a publication ban is difficult to understand.

She argues that such a ban is useless given the enormous coverage the case has received in the media in France.