The Canadian Government is appealing an order from a Federal court to bring back four men held in Syria as possible members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as Daesh.
Ottawa has formally opposed the decision rendered on January 20 by a Federal court in Ottawa ordering it to repatriate the four, who are imprisoned in area governed by the Kurds, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria or AANES.
“The government is appealing because in our view the Court made errors of law and fact,” a statement from Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry, said.
“The Government is seeking to expedite the appeal and will be moving to stay the Federal Court’s judgement,” it added.
It said that the Federal Government was “resolute in its vigilance with regard to the safety and security of Canadians and remains committed to taking a robust approach to this issue.”
The application had been moved by family members of Canadian citizens who had travelled to the region allegedly to join ISIS. On January 19, the Government had agreed to bring back six women and 13 children held there but has not agreed to repatriating the men.
In the ruling now being contested by the Government, Justice Henry S Brown had directed Ottawa to make a formal request to AANES to “allow the voluntary repatriation of the Canadian men” and that they were entitled to be provided with “passports or emergency travel documents.”
The Court had cited the resolution with regard to the repatriation of the women and children.
Among the men is Jack Letts, who was a dual British and Canadian citizen at the time he went to Syria, though born in England. However, the British Government cancelled his citizenship in 2020.
ISIS is listed as a terror organisation by the Canadian Government.
