The parents of a Canadian man imprisoned in Syria are urging the federal government to intervene, warning that the transfer of detainees to Iraq risks plunging prisoners into what they describe as “another legal black hole.”
Sally Lane, whose son Jack Letts has been detained for years in northeastern Syria, says the latest move could further erode already fragile legal protections for foreign nationals held in the region. Letts is among thousands of detainees kept in makeshift prisons run by Kurdish forces that regained control of the area after defeating the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Lane has repeatedly called on Ottawa to help secure her son’s release, arguing that Canada has the power to act but has chosen not to. Her concerns intensified this week after U.S. and Iraqi officials confirmed that prisoners were being transferred from Syria to Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government, a move welcomed by both the Syrian government and the U.S.-led coalition.
According to the U.S. military, the first transfer involved 150 detainees moved from the Syrian province of Hassakeh to undisclosed locations in Iraq. U.S. Central Command said as many as 7,000 prisoners could ultimately be transferred to Iraqi custody.
Letts’ family says he travelled to the Middle East as a teenager, studying and living in Jordan and Kuwait before entering Syria. They maintain he never became a fighter and openly opposed ISIL, claiming he was even put on trial by the group for publicly condemning it. Kurdish forces detained him in 2017 while he was attempting to flee the country with refugees, his parents say.
While Canada has facilitated the repatriation of some Canadian women and children from Syria in recent years, the federal government has consistently declined to assist Canadian men held in the region. The Federal Court of Appeal previously ruled that Ottawa was not legally obligated to repatriate Letts or three other Canadian men, and the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear an appeal in 2024.
The Canadian Press has asked Global Affairs Canada what steps, if any, the government is considering in response to the latest developments.
Human rights organizations have long warned about conditions in Iraq’s prison system. Amnesty International has documented allegations of overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, unfair trials and the use of mass executions.
In a statement released Thursday by the advocacy group Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture, Lane accused the federal government of abandoning Canadian detainees and their families. She said Ottawa could help secure her son’s release by formally requesting his transfer and issuing the necessary travel documents.
Jack Letts’ father, John Letts, said the government’s inaction has disproportionately affected Muslim Canadians, arguing that families have not only been ignored but actively resisted in their efforts to bring loved ones home. Without immediate action, he warned, families fear they may face years more of uncertainty and suffering.