Canada’s Trudeau under pressure regarding ‘Jihadi Jack’ case

ShaimaaHefzy

The demands of a Muslim convert who joined Daesh as a teenager and had his British citizenship revoked have turned into an electoral case added to the list of crises that are chasing Canada’s ruling Liberal Party, against the Conservative Party.

Jack Letts – nicknamed Jihadi Jack in the press – was 18 when he left school in Oxfordshire in 2014 to join Daesh fighters in Raqqa, Syria.

Letts, who is a dual UK-Canadian national, was jailed after being captured by Kurdish YPG forces while trying to flee to Turkey in May 2017.

The Canadian government said the UK had “off-loaded” its responsibilities as he is now a Canadian citizen who has been demanding to return home, while the Canadian government still has not determine the final decision on dealing with its citizens who joined Daesh.

Aside from his individual case, Canada’s liberal government, headed by Justin Trudeau, is trying to build good relations with minorities – including Muslims and refugees.

Asked Monday if he would welcome Letts to Canada, Trudeau would only say it is a crime to travel internationally with the aim of supporting terrorism. “And that is a crime that we will continue to make all attempts to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. That is the message we have for Canadians and for anyone involved.”

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says Letts should remain locked up.

“Jihadi Jack is in prison now and that is where he should stay,” Scheer said Monday in a statement. “A Conservative government under my leadership will not lift a finger to bring him back to Canada.”

Trudeau needs to explain to Canadians “why he and his government worked so hard to bring him here,” Scheer added.

The latest annual federal report on extremism says some 190 people with connections to Canada are suspected of terrorist activity abroad and, in addition, approximately 60 have returned.

The activities of these Canadians in various countries could involve front-line fighting, training, logistical support, fundraising or studying at extremist-influenced schools.

“ISIS got its start in 2003 in a camp,” said Stephanie Carvin, an international relations professor at Carleton University. “These camps are breeding grounds for an ISIS resurgence.”

Carvin said Canada could amend its evidence laws to address some of the barriers to prosecuting returnees. In Australia, for instance, the government can declare it illegal for its citizens to travel to certain designated zones, which is an easier evidentiary threshold for prosecutors to meet.