The Federal Court of Appeal has overturned a judge's declaration that four Canadian men being held in Syrian camps are entitled to Ottawa's help to return home. A general view of Karama camp for internally displaced Syrians, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022 by the village of Atma, Idlib province, Syria. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Omar Albam
OTTAWA – The Federal Court of Appeal has overturned a judge’s declaration that four Canadian men being held in Syrian camps are entitled to Ottawa’s help to return home.
In a ruling released today, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal says the federal government is not obligated under the law to repatriate the men.
The ruling sets aside a January decision by Federal Court Justice Henry Brown, who directed Ottawa to request repatriation of the men as soon as reasonably possible and provide them with passports or emergency travel documents.
Brown said the men were also entitled to have a representative of the federal government travel to Syria to help facilitate their release once their captors agree to hand them over.
The Canadians are among the many foreign nationals in Syrian camps and jails run by Kurdish forces that reclaimed the strife-torn region from the extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The men include Jack Letts, whose parents John Letts and Sally Lane have waged a campaign to pressure Ottawa to come to his aid.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2023.
