Held without Charge: The Call to Repatriate Canadians Detained in Northeast Syria

• In-person event

Since the fall of the Islamic State in 2019, thousands of foreign nationals have been held in arbitrary and indefinite detention in northeast Syria without charge. Currently, there are at least 40 Canadian citizens, including children, among those detained in degrading and inhumane conditions. We call on the Canadian government to end these arbitrary and unlawful detentions by immediately repatriating all Canadian citizens.

This event will be moderated by Professor Azar Masoumi, and features four speakers:

• John Letts: Father of Canadian citizen Jack Letts who has been detained without charge in North East Syria since 2017, John has been campaigning for his repatriation to Canada.
• Tayab Ali: Partner at leading British law firm Bindmans LLP, Tayab is recognised as a top Solicitor Advocate with an international criminal and civil practice. He represents the Letts family in the UK.
• Monia Mazigh: Author and academic. She is currently an adjunct professor with Carleton University’s Department of English Language and Literature.
• Justin Mohammed: Programs Manager (Campaigns and Advocacy) at Amnesty International Canada, Justin has been the Human Rights Law & Policy Campaigner at Amnesty for the last two years, where he was responsible for the organization’s work on refugee and migrant rights, the arms trade, and Canadians detained abroad. Prior to joining Amnesty International, he clerked at the Federal Court of Canada and served as a Human Rights Officer with the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.