Rescue sought for children in Syria
At least 13 Canadians detained: report
• Canadian infants and children being held in Syria deserve the federal government’s help to get them out before winter comes, says a group representing them here.
The Canadians detained by Kurdish authorities in Syrian territory include nine families and more than 10 children, including some who were taken to Syria at young ages and others who were born there, said Alexandra Bain, the director of Families Against Violent Extremism.
Bain said the children are facing the outbreak of disease and a harsh winter and the Canadian government has a duty to protect its citizens. She said they live on a diet of rice and pasta and there are no diapers or milk for the infants.
Bain said her group and another volunteer organization want to foot the cost of getting these Canadians out of a war zone and are willing to do the necessary work on the ground, but that the government has to help them.
All those imprisoned in Syria should be vetted by Canadian authorities and it is possible some should face charges for their activities abroad, she added.
“They were all captured and detained in a war zone, and they must be thoroughly investigated by Canada’s security services and some will undoubtedly face justice,” said Bain.
Global News has reported that at least 13 Canadians — three alleged terrorists, their wives and children — are being detained in Syria.
The group includes Jack Letts, the British-raised son of a Canadian father and British mother, who has been dubbed “Jihadi Jack” by the U.K. media. His father, John, joined Bains on Parliament Hill on Tuesday, calling for the release of the Canadians. He branded as “fake news” the reports of his son’s being a terrorist, and laid the blame on a British journalist, whose use of the moniker stuck.
John Letts told the Hill press conference that he thinks his son is innocent and that he needs treatment for various illnesses contracted while in prison.
“I want everyone here to know what we know: that Jack worked with others in the religious opposition to ISIS in Raqqa (the city the Islamic State claimed as its capital), that he condemned ISIS on social media, and that he wants to spend the rest of his life living peacefully and bearing witness against ISIS,” Letts said.
SOME (OF THE CANADIANS WHO WERE CAPTURED) WILL UNDOUBTEDLY FACE JUSTICE.