(Ottawa) The mother of Jack Letts, also known as “Jihadi Jack,” began a hunger strike Tuesday. Sally Lane is set up in front of the building where the House of Commons is located, and she is seeking a meeting with minister Melanie Jolie to plead for support for the return of her son, who is trapped in northeast Syria.
At the end of her patience, and after exhausting her legal appeals — the Supreme Court last November refused to hear the case of her son and three other men languishing in a detention center in northeastern Syria — the mother decided to take drastic action. Actions to make oneself heard.
The release of Amnesty International’s report was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he explains in an interview.
According to the document released in April, the region’s autonomous authorities are responsible for widespread violations of the rights of more than 56,000 people in their custody – approximately 11,500 men, 14,500 women and 30,000 children held in at least 27 centers and two detention camps. Hole and Rose.
We also learn that one or two men and boys die every week from tuberculosis, according to representatives of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Red Cross had not been allowed to visit these prisons for more than two years, and Sally Lane was concerned.
“When I found out about this, I tried everything, nothing worked, I told myself I have to do something drastic,” says the woman, who does not believe her son is an ISIS (Islamic State armed group) fighter. )
Suspicion of Jack Letts has been heightened since an article published in a British newspaper rebranded him as “Jihadi Jack”.
It said Jack called me to tell me he had joined ISIS. This is completely wrong.
Sally Lane
She believes her son has the right to a trial in court. “That’s why he should be sent back,” he said.
A meeting to end the strike
“Then I will end the hunger strike [la ministre des Affaires étrangères] Melanie Jolie has agreed to meet with me to discuss the resettlement issue. I’ve been in Ottawa for four years and no one in government has met me,” he explains.
Photo by Adrian Wilde, Press of Canada
Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie
“Global Affairs continues to evaluate the granting of extraordinary assistance, including repatriation to Canada, on a case-by-case basis,” it said in an email Thursday, without directly referring to the request by Jack Letts or Sally Lane.
“Canadian consular officials are actively engaging with Syrian Kurdish authorities and international organizations operating in the region, as well as with civil society groups to obtain information about Canadian citizens in detention,” it added.
However, Sally Lane said she had heard about the possibility of meeting the minister’s parliamentary secretary, Rob Oliphant.
This will satisfy her and she will start eating again, she says.
In legal proceedings
The government challenged in court an order to deport Jack Letts and three Canadian citizens detained in the autonomous region controlled by Kurdish forces.
The first case judgment ruled against the government. Federal Court Judge Henry Brown has ordered Ottawa to deport Canadians suspected of being former fighters of the Islamic State group.
However, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned the ruling, with Judge David Stratas ruling that “Canada is not responsible for the respondents’ presence in northeastern Syria, which did not prevent them from entering Canada and did not cause or perpetuate the unfortunate situation.” They will find themselves.”
As usual, the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal without explaining the reasons for this refusal.
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