A civil society delegation visiting Syrian detention centers called on Ottawa to provide immediate consular assistance to Canadian detainees and to swiftly repatriate any citizens wishing to return to Canada.

The four-member delegation said it held meetings with officials and visited a number of Canadian men, women and children and non-Canadian mothers of Canadian children being held in Syrian camps and detention centers.

These Canadians are among many foreign nationals being held in run-down centers run by the Kurdish forces, which have taken over the war-ravaged region from the Daesh (Islamic State of Iraq and Levant) militant group.

Members of the delegation, including Senator Kim Pate, also want Canada to issue temporary residency permits to ensure non-Canadian mothers and siblings of Canadian children can travel to Canada.

The civil society delegation held a press conference in Ottawa on Thursday to update on its recent five-day visit to northeastern Syria.

Earlier this year, the federal government turned down an offer by the delegation to travel to Syria on Ottawa’s behalf to repatriate detained Canadians.

Canada is involved in an international failure

Members say Canada is complicit in a serious international human rights abuse because its policy is essentially to house thousands of foreign nationals, more than half of whom are children.

“We are extremely concerned about what we saw, experienced and heard on the pitch while we were there,” said M.^Me Godfather at a press conference on Thursday. Nothing in my professional life prepared me for the experiences of the last few weeks. »

When asked about the delegation’s urgent calls for action, Global Affairs Canada pointed to a 2021 policy framework for deciding whether to provide extraordinary assistance to Canadians in northeastern Syria.

The ministry said Canadian consular officials continue to actively work with the Kurdish authorities, international organizations working in the region and the recently returned delegation to provide information and assistance to Canadian citizens.

The humanitarian mission also included Alex Neve, senior researcher at the University of Ottawa, retired Canadian diplomat Scott Heatherington, and Hadayt Nazami, an immigration and human rights attorney.

children without their mother

The delegation said they interviewed one Canadian and three non-Canadian women, including 13 children, detained at al-Roj camp.

The Canadian government informed the women that they would not be allowed to travel to Canada, but that their children could travel without them, the delegation said in a summary of their visit.

“They shared with the delegation a number of challenges they are facing in the camp, including their children’s education, as well as a number of serious safety and health issues,” it said.

The delegation also met with two Canadians detained in Syria, Jack Letts and Muhammad Ali, and said both wanted consular assistance and the opportunity to return to Canada.

The two nationals have significant health problems and have received neither consular visits nor direct assistance from Canadian authorities during their five-year detention, the delegation said.

“They have made it clear that they are ready and would welcome the opportunity to respond to any allegation that they have committed acts related to terrorism or face other criminal charges through fair trials in Canada’s justice system,” it said the summary of The Visit.

The delegation adds that the two men were repeatedly questioned or questioned by US intelligence or law enforcement officials who they said were primarily from the US Federal Police (FBI). “One of the men was also questioned by intelligence officials from two other countries. To their knowledge, neither man has been interviewed by Canadian intelligence officials or Canadian law enforcement officials. »

Members of the delegation had hoped to see seven other Canadian men being detained in Syria but were not granted access.

“Many Canadians may be tempted to conclude that these individuals are the authors of their own misfortune,” Heatherington said. However, it was clear to us that there was no common storyline as to how or why these individuals ended up in north-eastern Syria at a time when the region was under cruel control [de Daech]. »

The delegation argued that authorities in the region want to ensure that detained Syrians and foreigners are treated by a judicial system that meets international standards. They are preparing to start the trials of foreign nationals, involving between 4,000 and 5,000 prisoners, with a cast of about 30 judges of the Anti-Terrorism Court, the summary said.

“It’s almost impossible to imagine this being sustainable without stretching for decades,” Mr Neve, former Secretary-General of Amnesty International Canada, said at the press conference.

Jack Letts’ mother thanks the delegation

Jack Letts’ mother Sally Lane says she is “delighted” to hear from her son after years of silence, even though she says he is “hardly keeping up” in a Syrian prison.

Ms Lane, who has long campaigned for Ottawa to help with her son’s repatriation, said she could not thank the delegation enough for what was accomplished.

“Knowing that they were able to see and speak to Jack despite being unavailable for so long, and that he knows there are people who care about him, is a tremendous step forward in our fight, to bring him home,” she told The Canadian Press.

“Jack can hardly hold on. He and the other Canadian citizens had to endure something no human should ever have to endure. »

M^Me Lane said he was told his son had put a direct question to the Canadian delegation: “He asked them to be open with him and tell him if he’ll still be here in 10 years.”

The Canadian government must end its “cruel campaign against families who just want to end this nightmare and bring our loved ones home,” Ms said^Me Roadway. We’ve all suffered enough. »

Ottawa has helped repatriate women and children from Syria but has shown no willingness to repatriate Canadian men.

Lawyers for Mr Letts and three other Canadians being held in appalling conditions in Syria are turning to Canada’s Supreme Court to denounce Ottawa’s choice of which citizens to help or not, in violation of their constitutional rights.

In a petition filed with the country’s highest court, the lawyers argue that their clients will be released if Canada requests it and their repatriation facilitated, as has been done for other citizens.

They are therefore asking the Supreme Court to challenge a May decision by the federal appeals court that the federal government does not have a legal obligation to repatriate these four men.

The four men cannot return or enter Canada on their own, and they need the Canadian government’s steps to allow them to exercise that right, the petition said.

The Supreme Court will decide in the coming weeks whether to hear the appeal.

To see in the video