Jack Letts Case: RCMP receives torture complaint against Kurdish forces in Syria

OTTAWA – Yesterday, the RCMP received an official complaint against Kurdish authorities for the  torture of Canadian citizen Jack Letts. 

Jack has been held in a Kurdish-run detention facility in Northeast Syria without charge or access to  any legal assistance since 2017. Notwithstanding the alleged torture, this alone amounts to arbitrary  detention and is therefore illegal under international law. 

The RCMP was presented with a dossier of evidence, including transcripts of Jack’s contact with  Global Affairs Canada and his family, which allege torture by the Kurdish authorities. In a message to  his mother in July 2017 Jack stated that “I’m scared of electricity. It’s one of my fears. I’ve actually  been tortured...” Jack’s parents, John and Sally, have not heard directly from Jack since that day.  

Amongst the evidence presented to the RCMP is a transcript of a phone conversation between Jack  and GAC in 2018 in which he reveals that he had been tortured and also subjected to long periods in  solitary confinement. Jack explained to the GAC officer that “I spent 35 days in a room slightly taller  than I am, and about half that wide, with no toilet, nothing. 35 days.” GAC has not investigated this  further. 

Torture is a crime according to the Canadian Criminal Code. The RCMP has the authority to  investigate allegations of torture that are committed in countries other than Canada if the  complainant is about a Canadian citizen, as Jack is. Consequently, the Kurdish perpetrators of Jack’s  torture are liable to be investigated and prosecuted under Canadian law. 

Jack is one of a number of foreign citizens held by Kurdish authorities in circumstances where their  country of citizenship has failed to protect their individual rights. It is believed that there are  currently at least 45 Canadians including 25 young children awaiting repatriation. In Jack’s case, GAC  has offered Jack no proactive support or assistance since 2017. GAC claims that it does not have  sufficient consular presence in Syria to facilitate Jack’s repatriation. However, the initial access of  GAC officials to Jack and the recent repatriation of a child and mother refutes this. 

A UN complaint was submitted in May against the Canadian government for acting in bad faith, and only taking responsibility for their citizens when it suits them politically. This has amounted to a  violation of Jack’s right to life. 

GAC have been criticised in the past for their unwillingness to provide consular assistance or attempt  the repatriation of Canadian citizens currently being held in Northeast Syria. This includes a case in  the federal court brought by 26 families.  

A petition has been launched to get the Canadian government to step up to their duties and  repatriate Jack along with the other Canadian citizens being held by Kurdish forces. 

John Letts, who met with the RCMP to discuss Jack’s case said, “Nothing prepares you as a parent to  hear your child tell you they have been tortured. For years we were scared of saying anything in case  there would be retaliation against him by the Kurdish forces that are holding him, but it's been  almost 5 years and our silence has not made the situation any better. We don't even know if he is still  alive. The government has to do something to start repatriating all the Canadians that are being kept  in torturous conditions in both the camps and detention facilities. I trust that the RCMP will take this  seriously and investigate the allegations we presented to them in full."