Justice Minister Rob Nicholson's decision to order Ottawa academic Hassan Diab extradited to France is a "dangerous new low" in Canadian law, his lawyer said Friday.
"This is already the least fair law in Canada," Donald Bayne told a news conference attended by Diab.
Bayne said that Nicholson's decision is ignoring the fact Canadian citizens can only be extradited to stand trial, adding that the French haven't completed their investigation.
"You can't extradite (a Canadian citizen) for an investigation," he said.
Diab is a suspect in the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue. Four passersby were killed and many others were injured.
Diab, who has not been formally charged, says he is innocent.
Diab told the news conference the three-year-old case has been devastating to his family.
"I have never engaged in terrorism," said the 57-year-old professor, "and I am not an anti-Semite. I am anxious to clear my name and prove my innocence."
Diab is appealing Nicholson's decision to federal court and says he will take it to the Supreme Court, if necessary.