Supreme Court 'signed my son's death warrant,' mother says of refusal to hear plea

The mother of a Canadian man detained in Syria says the Supreme Court of Canada has effectively "signed her son's death warrant" by declining to hear his case.

"I've been screaming about this for 7 1/2 years now," said Sally Lane, mother of Jack Letts. "I'm exhausted. I just want my son back."

The Supreme Court had previously rejected a challenge to a Federal Court of Appeal ruling, which found that Ottawa has no legal obligation to repatriate Letts and three other Canadian men. In March, the men's lawyers filed a new request, arguing that unique circumstances warranted another look at their case. However, in a letter last Friday, the court’s registrar indicated that the motion did not present the “exceedingly rare circumstances” necessary for reconsideration.

The detained Canadians, including Letts, are held in poor conditions at Kurdish-run detention centers in Syria, established after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was driven out. Letts, who became a devoted Muslim, initially traveled to Jordan at 18, then studied in Kuwait, and later found himself in Syria. His family says he was captured in 2017 by Kurdish forces while attempting to leave Syria with a group of refugees.

In January 2023, Federal Court Justice Henry Brown ordered Ottawa to expedite the repatriation of the men from their dire conditions and provide travel documents. Brown also stated a federal representative should assist their release if Kurdish forces agreed. However, this ruling was later overturned by the Federal Court of Appeal.

The registrar's November 1 letter confirmed the Supreme Court file is now closed, barring further filings.

"The Supreme Court has just callously signed my son's death warrant," Lane said Monday. "I expect this government not to care about human rights, as all they seem to care about is election popularity, but for the Supreme Court not to care either is gutting and actually unbelievable."

The identities of the other three Canadians have not been publicly disclosed. Lawyers for the men argue they have been held for years without charge or trial, in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. Some detainees lack basic necessities like adequate food and medical care, with one detainee reporting torture to Canadian officials.

The lawyers contend that their clients' Kurdish jailers would release them if Canada made the request, as it has for Canadian women and children held in similar circumstances. Lawrence Greenspon, representing two of the anonymous men, voiced disappointment over the Supreme Court's latest decision and mentioned the possibility of filing a complaint to the United Nations.

The court's decision follows the recent death of a Canadian woman in Turkey who had escaped from a Syrian detention camp. Human rights advocates, including Sen. Kim Pate, Alex Neve, and lawyer Hadayt Nazami, recently urged Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly to launch an impartial investigation into her death. The woman, publicly known only as F.J., had been met by the advocates in August 2023. The federal government helped bring her six children to Canada in May but declined to repatriate her due to security concerns.

Asked last Friday about the case, Joly expressed the need to understand the circumstances of the woman’s death. "Her six children are in Canada. We owe them the truth and...we owe them support," she said. "They can personally count on me to make sure that that is a priority for me and my team."

Global Affairs Canada, Joly’s department, has not disclosed specific actions in response, though spokesperson Renelle Arsenault confirmed that Canadian officials are in contact with local authorities regarding the reported death. Greenspon, who has been assisting the family, stressed the importance of a thorough investigation. "This is a matter that clearly needs to be investigated," he said.