The parents of a Canadian man who has been held in a detention centre in northeastern Syria since 2017 are once again calling on the Canadian federal government for help to repatriate their son.

A Canadian woman who spent two years in Syrian prison camps, now stranded in northern Iraq, wants a judge to compel Ottawa to give her an emergency passport so she can return home.

Families of the 26 Canadian citizens (14 children, 8 women, 4 men) currently detained in Syria have filed a federal claim against the Canadian government in Ottowa. This case seeks to bring to light the neglect of the Canadian government to uphold parts of the Federal Court Act, the Citizenship Act, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, in relation to repatriating these Canadian citizens out of the horrific conditions in Syria.

The committee issued several recommendations regarding the detained Canadians, including that “the Government of Canada pursue all options possible to repatriate the Canadian children detained in al-Hol and Roj camps in northeast Syria.” They also recommended that “the Government of Canada make every effort to provide consular services to all Canadians detained in northeast Syria” and that Ottawa should use diplomacy to “advocate for unhindered humanitarian access in all situations where children are affected by armed conflict and displacement, including in Syria,” according to the report.

Tayab Ali, the family’s lawyer, has submitted a complaint against both the UK and Canadian Governments to the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions. The complaint describes both the action and inaction of the British and Canadian Governments which amounts to a violation of his right to life.

A 4-year-old Canadian girl, known as Amira, has been finally repatriated to Canada to live with her relatives after her immediate family was killed in an air strike in Syria. This sets a precedent for the Canadian government to rescue its citizens from camps in northern Syria and bring them to safety in Canada.

Jack’s parents Sally and John were charged in 2016 for allegedly ‘funding terrorism’ after having tried to send their son money to escape ISIS and get out of Syria. Despite having permission from the British police to send these funds, a case was still brought against them. Over three years later they were found not guilty of two of the three charges, but were found guilty of having sent £223 ($378 Can) to a refugee family in Lebanon in 2015. The police argued that there had been ‘reasonable cause’ for them to suspect that this small sum could have been used to support terrorism. The judge stated in court that Sally and John were not terrorists, had never supported terrorism, and had acted only to save their son’s life.

The British response to the Syria crisis is a recipe for making the world more dangerous. The government appears to believe that extremism is imported into the UK by bringing people home from Syria, but this is not how it works.

‘One day, when Jack is allowed a fair trial, I suspect that the world will learn that he is not and never has been a terrorist.’