Canada is still ignoring the basic human rights of its citizens held in northeast Syria*
Senator Kim Pate, Alex Neve, Scott Heatherington, Hadayt Nazami
“What I want is to be able to tell my story, my true story, somewhere I can speak freely without fear or duress.”
That is what Jack Letts, a Canadian citizen who has been detained without charge or trial in northeast Syria for the past six years, told us when we met him recently.
It was the first time he had been visited by any Canadian delegation or representative. He has instead been questioned, repeatedly, by the FBI. But to no particular end, as no charges have been laid, and no moves made to bring him to trial anywhere. Instead, he languishes indefinitely in harsh prison conditions, facing serious health problems, and with no contact with the outside world.
We also met with Muhammad Ali, another Canadian who has disappeared into the labyrinth of injustice. He too has been questioned by the FBI, perhaps as often as 25 times, as well as by British and Dutch intelligence. Again, no Canadians. He also faces health challenges.
There may be at least seven other Canadian men held in northeast Syria. We asked to see them but were not granted access. It is not clear to us who was blocking our request.
We also met with one Canadian woman, and three non-Canadian women, who, among them, are the mothers of 13 Canadian children. They are being held in Roj Camp, one of two camps in northeast Syria that are effectively detention camps, holding thousands of Syrian and foreign nationals who were rounded up as Syrian Kurdish forces defeated ISIL over the course of 2018-2019. The Canadian government has told the women that they cannot come to Canada, but their children can.
Women and children in the camps; men and teenage boys in the prisons. All accused — sometimes very directly but more often in general terms — of being linked to ISIL. Many of those accusations may be well-founded, including individuals responsible for terrible atrocities, while many others are likely innocent or have compelling defences of having been coerced or misled.
The numbers are staggering. No one has precise figures, but well over 50,000 people remain detained in the region.
We found ourselves drawing comparisons to Guantánamo Bay and black-hole detention sites that the U.S. operated during the “war on terror.” We also thought of previous Canadian cases such as those of Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abou-Elmaati, Muayyed Nureddin and Omar Khadr.
Then it was al-Qaida; now it is ISIL. But the fundamentals are the same. Painted as terrorists on the basis of undisclosed and untested accusations, people are warehoused far beyond the reach of the courts, the protection of the law, the rigour of justice, and the vigilance of media and public scrutiny. No accountability and no end in sight.
And Canada? While not the architect of what is happening in these camps and detention centres, Canada is a willing accomplice. There has been no serious effort to get consular officers on the ground to ensure the welfare of Canadians. There is fierce resistance to court cases calling for Canadians to be repatriated. Canada’s stance is no source of pride.
We had productive meetings with Syrian Kurdish officials with the Autonomous Administration of North and East of Syria (AANES). Their bravery and immense sacrifices led to the defeat of ISIL and they now govern a region still facing daily threats from Turkish drones and ISIL sleeper cells.
Yet, they insist that people who are detained on accusations of supporting ISIL must have fair trials and they firmly reject the death penalty. But they note that is a massive undertaking, for which they have repeatedly requested international assistance.
They have asked foreign governments to repatriate their nationals. Few have.
They called for an international tribunal to deal with some of the cases. That went nowhere.
They have pleaded for resources to bolster their justice system, so that they can commence trials locally. That support has not materialized.
The people of northeast Syria deserve universal gratitude for taking on ISIL, but have seemingly been left to their own devices to cope with the staggering aftermath.
There is much to be done in northeast Syria to ensure human rights are respected and the region does not again become a nightmare of insecurity and terrorist violence. It is time for Canada to show up.
That means immediate consular visits and support to Canadians detained in camps and prisons. It means repatriating all Canadian women, children and men, and allowing the non-Canadian mothers of Canadian children to accompany them. If there is evidence that any are responsible for terrorism-related or other crimes, they should be dealt with in the Canadian justice system.
And finally, Canada must collaborate with the international community and AANES to deliver a comprehensive justice agenda for northeast Syria involving repatriation, local trials and an international tribunal. More widely, greater international support is needed to meet such vital needs as basic infrastructure, food and water, health care, and education.
Security is best assured when human rights are respected. That needs to become the guiding star for Canada’s policy in northeast Syria.
*Kim Pate is a Canadian senator. Alex Neve is Senior Fellow, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa. Scott Heatherington is a retired Canadian ambassador. Hadayt Nazami is a Toronto-based immigration and human rights lawyer. The authors were members of a civil society delegation that was on the ground in northeast Syria for five days in late August. This originally appeared as an opinion piece in the Ottawa Citizen on September 9, 2023.
The press release issued by our delegation can be accessed here: English Francais
