The mother of a Canadian man says she fears for his safety behind bars in Iraq after receiving word from Canada’s foreign ministry he may have been transferred there from detention in northeastern Syria.

Global Affairs Canada has told Sally Lane that her son Jack Letts might be among the detainees recently sent to Iraq, but that Canadian officials are still working to confirm his identity.

Letts and several other Canadian men were among the many foreign nationals held in detention centres long run by Kurdish forces that reclaimed the strife-torn region from the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

It was revealed earlier this year that the decision to move prisoners to Iraq came after a request by officials in Baghdad that was welcomed by the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State and the Syrian government.

Amnesty International has warned of serious rights violations and poor conditions in Iraq, including overcrowded and unsanitary prisons, unfair trials and mass executions.

Lane said that if her son is indeed in Iraqi custody, she wants Ottawa to move as swiftly as possible to bring him to Canada.

“At that point, you know, they have to repatriate because it’s not safe,” she said in an interview.

“I don’t want to hear any more excuses from the Canadian government. I mean, if they don’t feel that they have obligations towards their citizens when they’re literally at risk of torture and death … what is Global Affairs for?”

Letts became a devout Muslim, went on holiday to Jordan at age 18, then studied in Kuwait before winding up in Syria. His family says he was captured by Kurdish forces while fleeing the country with a group of refugees in 2017.

Letts’s parents have said they are aware of no evidence their son became a terrorist fighter. They said Jack stood against ISIL and was even put on trial for publicly condemning the group.

Some Canadian women and children have been repatriated from Syria in recent years with help from Canadian officials and the co-operation of Kurdish authorities.

Ottawa has declined to help repatriate Canadian men.

The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled that Ottawa was not obligated under the law to repatriate Letts and three other Canadian men. The Supreme Court of Canada declined in 2024 to hear an appeal of the ruling.

The Associated Press reported last month that the thousands of adult male detainees transferred to Iraq from Syria included foreign nationals from Europe, Australia, the United States and Canada.

Matthew Behrens, coordinator of the group Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture, recently denounced “the illegal nature of these forced transfers” and flagged the “brutal detention conditions in Iraq, our concerns about unfair investigations and trials, and the distinct fear of execution.”

The group recently submitted a brief to the United Nations urging it to call on Canada to immediately repatriate all detainees from the region, some of whom have been held almost nine years without charges.

In response to questions from The Canadian Press, Global Affairs said the safety and security of Canadians “always remain the utmost priority for the government of Canada while meeting necessary legal obligations.”

“Canada is aware of the transfer of detainees from Syria to Iraq, including reports of Canadian citizens being transferred,” the department said. “Canadian consular officials remain actively engaged with local authorities and international partners in the region to confirm this information.”

Lane received a message from Global Affairs Canada on Feb. 13 saying that while Letts may be among those sent to Iraq, the information the department had was incomplete and not a direct match for his name on file.

In the email, which Lane shared with The Canadian Press, Global Affairs said it had contacted Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting confirmation of the identity of the individuals in custody.

“If it is Jack, we will ask for an update on his health and well-being, request immediate consular access, and convey our expectation that detainees be treated humanely and in a manner consistent with international law,” the message said.

“We will continue to advocate for the fair and equal treatment of any Canadian detainees,” it added. “Furthermore, we are engaging with several senior Iraqi officials to obtain clarity on where detainees are being held and to seek to better understand Iraq’s plans for the detainees who have been transferred.”

Global Affairs also said it was engaging with relevant international organizations and civil society groups operating in the region for information on and help for detained Canadians.

A follow-up message said that as of Monday, the department was still working to confirm Letts’s identity. (CTV News)

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