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Father of man imprisoned in Syria says there’s no evidence ‘he’s done anything wrong’

Dec 10, 2021 | 11:51 AM

OTTAWA — John Letts says he’s on a mission to save his son Jack’s life, but also to change the way people think about him.

Letts, who lives in England, is in Ottawa this week to press federal officials to help get Jack, who is Canadian, out of a squalid Kurdish prison in northeastern Syria.

He stresses that Jack, 26, has been held without charge or access to a lawyer, or any form of consular assistance from Canada, for over four years.

Letts believes his son is innocent, and he wants to dispel the notion that his boy joined the militant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

He says the allegation was created by tabloid headlines and there is no evidence that Jack supported a terrorist organization or committed a crime.

Global Affairs Canada says the government’s ability to provide consular assistance in Syria is extremely limited given dangerous conditions, adding it cannot discuss individual cases due to privacy restrictions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2021.

The Canadian Press