French court finds Hassan Diab guilty of involvement in 1980 bombing

A French court has found Ottawa academic Hassan Diab guilty in absentia on terrorism charges related to the bombing of a Paris synagogue.

The Ottawa university lecturer, now 69, was accused by authorities of involvement in the 1980 Rue Copernic bombing in Paris, which killed four people and injured more than 40. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Diab's lawyers say he was in Lebanon at the time of the attack and is a victim of mistaken identity.

The court sentenced Diab to life in prison and issued a warrant for his arrest.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa following the verdict Friday, Diab expressed disappointment and called his situation "Kafkaesque."

"We hoped reason would prevail," Diab said.

Diab's lawyer, Donald Bayne, said the conviction is unjust.

"The evidence shows he's innocent and yet they've convicted him," Bayne said.

"It's a political result. It's a wrongful conviction."

Bayne said the next step is to see if France makes a request for extradition.

Reacting to the verdict Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not say what Canada will do in response.

"We will look carefully at next steps, at what the French government chooses to do, at what French tribunals choose to do," Trudeau told a news conference. 

"But we will always be there to stand up for Canadians and their rights."

WATCH | 'We will look carefully at next steps': Trudeau reacts to Diab verdict