Dear Supporters,

On October 4, Lawrence Greenspon, our lawyer in Ottawa, phoned us with some good news: a 5-year-old orphan called Amira, who had been trapped in Syria’s al-Hol detention camp for over a year, was on her way back home. Greenspon’s threat of legal action was the determining factor that had forced the Canadian government to repatriate her after months of excuses and delay. 

Months of negotiation and campaign pressure led up to Amira’s release, including a 92-page report from Human Rights Watch which condemned the Canadian government for abandoning its citizens in overcrowded, filthy and life-threatening prisons and camps. A statement was further released by 16 UN experts which accused the government of failing to comply with the most basic standards of humanity, and violating the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Significantly, Amira’s return marked the successful completion of the first stage of the repatriation plan for all of the Canadian citizens trapped in Syria’s camps and prisons - 8 men, 13 women, and 25 children. Government claims that its citizens could not be helped due to a lack of consular assistance or a dangerous security situation have been shown to be false, and it is clear that repatriation is perfectly possible. The Canadian government has been called out, and it is now time they accepted their constitutional responsibilities towards the rest of their citizens stranded in Syria.

During the past few months, Mr. Greenspon has been preparing a group civil action on behalf of the families of all of the Canadian detainees, who, like us, have been living for years with the knowledge that our loved ones are suffering in barbaric conditions in NE Syria.Unlike in the UK, Canada’s written Constitution guarantees the human rights of its citizens abroad and at home, which means that Canada is able to appeal to its own domestic legislation, rather than European or UN law. Although Canada’s Foreign Minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, has tried to claim that Amira’s return was an ‘exceptional case’, the government will find it harder to maintain this position in a federal court of law. 

To support the impending group civil action, human rights organisations, including Reprieve and Save the Children, and a cross-party group of politicians, have joined together to demonstrate that an reintegration plan for Canadian returnees is already in place. All that is required now is government action. The Canadian Foreign Ministry has consistently told us it was ‘doing everything possible to secure Jack’s release’, despite having done nothing up until now. Prime Minister Trudeau has also declared that he has full confidence that federal agencies can manage these detainees when they return. It will be difficult for them now to claim that Canada is not fully equipped to deal with a tiny number of returnees, most of whom are children.

For us, Mr. Greenspon’s group civil action represents our best hope that Jack will come home before too long.We haven’t had news from him in over a year. The International Red Cross has not been visiting prisons due to covid, and the Canadian government refuses to confirm whether he is still alive - falsely claiming they cannot get this information from the US and UK-backed Kurdish forces that are detaining him. It is inconceivable that Canada, a first-world country that prides itself on its support for human rights, can maintain this position, yet this is the horrifying situation we find ourselves in. 

The world will be watching Canada closely during this second stage of court action, particularly since this will be the first time a Western country will have submitted a challenge on behalf of all of its stranded citizens. Coalition governments are very aware that successful legal action will have major repercussions for the other 12,000 foreign nationals - 7,000 children, 3,000 women, and 2,000 men - trapped in Syria’s nightmarish camps and prisons. Following the submission of the legal challenge in early January 2021, the Canadian government will be given a limited time to respond. If it fails to commit to repatriating its citizens, or fails to respond, a judicial review will be launched in federal court.

We desperately need your help to make this happen. Many of you – our friends, family and supporters - helped us very generously in the first stage of this campaign. We would be forever grateful for any further support you could provide, and are hoping to help raise $50,000 for this second - and hopefully final - phase of the campaign. 

We have written this appeal letter with heavy hearts for today is Jack’s 25th birthday. We would prefer not to bother you with another request for support, particularly in these difficult times, but we miss our son dearly and we have to do whatever we can to get him home. 

Thank you.

Sally and John