In February 2026, Jack, along with 5,703 other male detainees, were moved by US from Syrian prisons to al-Karkh central prison in Baghdad.

There, the detainees are currently being investigated by the Iraqi authorities into any possible offences they may have committed in the region. It is noteworthy that it has taken 7-9 years for any of the detainees to be presented before a judge, or to be offered the chance of any legal representation, let alone to receive any charge for any assumed crimes.

Canada and UK no longer have the excuse that they do not have consular assistance in the country of detention, since Iraq has an internationally recognised government – unlike the Kurdish militia which was previously sub-contracted by the US to incarcerate 10s of 1000s of adult and child detainees in the Syrian desert.

Consequently, for the first time in 9 years, the Canadian government made a consular visit to Jack on 10 June 2026 from its embassy in Baghdad.

And, following this, for the first time in 5 years, John and I received a letter from Jack.

It was an indescribable joy to see his handwriting again and to see his words to us, direct from the heart, unmediated and uncensored, just like the old Jack we remember, still warm, affectionate, and hopeful – despite the decade of horrific conditions he has been subject to.

John and I now need to leap into action to provide the legal support required to free Jack from his years of arbitrary detention and institutional abuse.

We have been extremely fortunate to secure the help of the eminent lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, who has worked on complex human rights cases for nearly 40 years. Clive was one of the first lawyers to represent illegally detained prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, and has prevented the execution of 300 prisoners on death row in US. He is also the founder of Reprieve, the human rights charity which operates in the UK and the US. After 15 years at Reprieve, Clive is now heading up a new non-profit organisation, Justice League.

Clive met Jack in prison in Syria in 2018, and publicly reported afterwards: ‘When Jack is allowed a fair trial, I suspect that the world will learn that he is not and never has been a terrorist.’*  During this meeting, Jack was able to explain to Clive when the Kurdish guard left the room for ten minutes, that nothing he had said in his supposed ‘confession’ to the BBC and ITV was true, and that he had been tortured before these interviews.  
*https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/jihadi-jack-study-mindless-mill-uk-law

On 26 June, the Canadian government informed us that the investigation into Jack is now complete. They did not provide any further information as to what will happen next, but it is expected that all detainees will now receive legal representation and will then either be repatriated to receive justice in their own countries, put on trial in Iraq, or released if no evidence of crimes is found.

Given that 98% of prisoners receive the sentence of death penalty if convicted in Iraq, we are desperately hoping that Canada will finally do the right thing and repatriate their nationals before any such trial takes place.

At this critical juncture, we would be extremely grateful if our supporters could help us fund the legal costs required for Clive to work on Jack’s case and on those of other international detainees. We are hoping that these funds will even enable a lawyer and family visit to Jack in the upcoming months – something that has been cruelly denied to us and him for so long.

Our fundraiser will run from mid July until mid August, and we will be contacting supporters privately to give details as to how they can help.

Once again, we would like to thank you all for helping us and Jack through our ordeal. Your support has been all that has kept us from despair all these years.

Sally and John