Canada to Repatriate 23 Citizens from Syria

The Kurdish-run al-Hol camp in Syria holds thousands of foreign women and children with ties to the ISIS group who are not being repatriated by their home countries. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
The Kurdish-run al-Hol camp in Syria holds thousands of foreign women and children with ties to the ISIS group who are not being repatriated by their home countries. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
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Canada to Repatriate 23 Citizens from Syria

The Kurdish-run al-Hol camp in Syria holds thousands of foreign women and children with ties to the ISIS group who are not being repatriated by their home countries. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
The Kurdish-run al-Hol camp in Syria holds thousands of foreign women and children with ties to the ISIS group who are not being repatriated by their home countries. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP

Canada will repatriate twenty-three citizens who have been detained in northeast Syria in camps for family members of ISIS group fighters, officials and a lawyer said Friday.

It would be the largest such repatriation of ISIS family members yet for Canada, and it comes after the families challenged the government in court, arguing Ottawa was obliged to repatriate the group under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, AFP said.

Earlier Friday, the foreign ministry announced its decision to repatriate six Canadian women and 13 infants. And a court later ruled that four men seeking repatriation as part of the group must also be sent back to Canada, said lawyer Barbara Jackman, who is representing one of the men.

"I've spoken to the parents and they're really, really happy," Jackman said of the court decision, adding that the judge requested that the men be repatriated "as soon as reasonably possible."

The foreign ministry said in a statement: "The safety and security of Canadians is our government's top priority.

"We continue to evaluate the provision of extraordinary assistance on a case by case basis, including repatriation to Canada, in line with the policy framework adopted in 2021," it said.

Up until now the government of Justin Trudeau has treated the detained ISIS families on a case-by-case basis, and in four years only a handful of women and children have been repatriated.

Since the destruction of the so-called ISIS "caliphate" across Syria and Iraq in 2019, more than 42,400 foreign adults and children with alleged ties to the ISIS group have been held in camps in Syria, according to Human Rights Watch.

Repatriating them is a highly sensitive issue for many countries, but rights groups have denounced their reluctance to bring back their own nationals from the camps, controlled mostly by Syrian Kurds.

Human Rights Watch said around 30 Canadian citizens, including 10 infants, remain in the camps.

Farida Deif, the group's head in Canada, said that Global Affairs Canada has informed a number of them by letter that they fulfill the requirements for repatriation.

However, she said, "none of the men have been notified of anything or have been part of any agreements thus far."

The authorities did not say when the 19 would come to Canada or whether any of them would face legal proceedings for their association with ISIS.

Last October Canada brought back two women and two children from Syria.

In 2020, Ottawa allowed the return of a five-year-old orphan girl from Syria after her uncle initiated legal action against the Canadian government.



Will Egypt Request Extradition of Ahmad Mansour?

Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)
Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)
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Will Egypt Request Extradition of Ahmad Mansour?

Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)
Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)

Judicial authorities in Egypt have issued an arrest and extradition warrant for Ahmad al-Mansour, who allegedly made threats against Egypt from Syria. He was reportedly apprehended by security forces in Damascus, an informed Egyptian source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday.
A source at the Syrian interior ministry told Reuters that Syria's new authorities have detained al-Mansour over threats he made to the government in Cairo.
The source said that al-Mansour has posted several videos threatening Egyptian authorities, and calling for protests.
Lately, al-Mansour had caused a huge controversy after appearing in a taped video of himself surrounded by masked fighters in a room decorated with a flag associated with the Egyptian monarchy before the 25 January revolution.
Al-Mansour's calls were rejected, even by Egyptian opponents, who said his speech harms the peacefulness of the January 25 revolution in 2011.
Research conducted by Asharq Al-Awsat found no judicial rulings recorded against al-Mansour, whether on terrorist or criminal charges.
The informed Egyptian source said the authorities issued an arrest warrant for al-Mansour on charges of joining armed terrorist groups, incitement to overthrow the regime by force of arms, and threatening Egyptian national security.
“Authorities are also preparing a file to request his extradition from Syria,” the source said.
Egypt's request to return al-Mansour does not require judicial rulings, the source added.
It is enough for Egyptian authorities to ask for his extradition on the grounds of questioning him, especially on criminal charges, the source said.
MP Mustafa Bakri told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Syrian authorities will not hand over Ahmad al-Mansour to Egypt. “They arrested al-Mansour only to prevent him from abusing authorities in Egypt and to avoid any clash with Cairo,” he said.
For his part, Syrian activist and journalist Abdul-Karim Omar, who is close to the new administration, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the current Syrian authorities are careful not to turn the new Syria into a threat to any country. “They want to preserve Syria’s relationship with Egypt,” he said.
Omar said he does not know whether the administration in Syria plans to hand al-Mansour over to Egypt, but assured that the new administration is keen to get have closet ties with Cairo.