Parents of Canadian held in Syria urge Ottawa to act as prisoners are sent to Iraq

By Canadian Press on January 22, 2026.

OTTAWA — The mother of a Canadian man detained in northeastern Syria says he risks going from “one legal black hole into another” as prisoners in the strife-torn region are transferred to Iraq.

Sally Lane has been calling on Ottawa for years to facilitate the release of her son Jack Letts from a Syrian prison.

Letts is among the foreign nationals held in ramshackle detention centres run for years by Kurdish forces that reclaimed the war-ravaged area from the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Letts became a devout Muslim, went on holiday to Jordan at age 18, then studied in Kuwait before winding up in Syria.

His family says he was captured by Kurdish forces while fleeing the country with a group of refugees in 2017.

Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to questions about steps Ottawa might take in response to the latest developments in Syria.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2026.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press

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