OTTAWA – A Canadian man, referred to publicly as SS, is petitioning the Federal Court to compel the Canadian government to determine whether it will assist in bringing him back to Canada. SS claims he has been subjected to torture while imprisoned in a Kurdish-led facility in northeastern Syria since 2019, where he has not faced any criminal charges or been given a legal process to contest his detention.
The government has not accused SS of engaging in any criminal or terrorist activities. His court application comes amid ongoing transfers of male prisoners from Syrian facilities to detention centers in Iraq. Global Affairs Canada acknowledged awareness of these transfers and stated that it continues to monitor the situation in coordination with allied nations.
According to the application, SS is held in an overcrowded and unsanitary prison environment with inadequate provisions for food, water, and clothing. The document details claims of physical and psychological torture, asserting that prison officials have beaten SS and allowed him to witness the deaths of other inmates, leaving their bodies in his vicinity for days. SS is reportedly suffering from multiple medical conditions without receiving sufficient medical care.
SS's mother, identified as MM, has advocated for her son’s return since December 2019, regularly contacting Global Affairs Canada for updates regarding his situation. A federal policy established in 2021 outlines criteria for repatriating Canadian detainees in Syria, which SS was initially deemed not to meet, according to a November 2021 statement from Global Affairs.
However, after MM reaffirmed that SS's circumstances had worsened due to deteriorating prison conditions and health issues, Global Affairs communicated on November 18, 2024, that SS had met the threshold for assessment under the repatriation policy. Despite this acknowledgment, over a year has passed without a decision from the federal government regarding possible assistance for SS.
The notice claims there is no other viable means for SS to be repatriated since the authorities holding him will not permit his departure without a travel document from Canada. Consequently, both SS and MM are requesting that the court orders the government to issue a decision on the matter within 14 days.
In response to inquiries about SS's court case, Global Affairs asserted that it continues to evaluate each situation involving potential repatriation on a case-by-case basis, citing privacy and operational security as reasons for not commenting on specific cases.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) once controlled much of northeastern Syria, but recent government offensives have led to changes in the management of prison camps and detention centers housing foreign nationals. A ceasefire agreement allowed the Syrian government to take over these facilities, resulting in the decision to transfer prisoners to Iraq after a request from officials in Baghdad.
Lawyer Nicholas Pope, representing SS and MM, emphasizes the urgency of repatriating SS before any potential transfer to Iraq occurs. Advocacy groups, including Amnesty International, have raised alarms over egregious human rights violations and dire conditions in Iraqi detention facilities, highlighting issues such as overcrowding, unfair trials, and mass executions.
Pope is also pursuing a human rights tribunal case on behalf of SS, four other Canadians, and seven children detained in Syria. He argues that the federal policy on repatriation discriminates against individuals based on their age, sex, and family status. Among those involved in the broader legal efforts is Jack Letts, whose mother recently expressed concerns that her son could be moved from "one legal black hole into another" as the transfer of prisoners unfolds.
