Mother's Desperate Plea as British ISIS Suspect Faces Syrian Prison Violence
The mother of a man stripped of his British citizenship and detained in a Syrian Islamic State jail has declared her son has been effectively "left to die" by the United Kingdom. This comes as detention centres in north-east Syria have become engulfed in violent clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led militias.
"Sitting Ducks" in a Battle Zone
Sally Lane, 63, stated her son Jack Letts, 30, along with other individuals with British ties accused of ISIS affiliations, are now "sitting ducks" who have been abandoned to fend for themselves. The prisons holding them have transformed into active frontlines amidst ferocious fighting that has escalated dramatically.
The Independent understands that as many as 60 people with connections to the UK, including 35 children, are currently being held in these camps and prisons now caught in the crossfire. This situation persists despite years of desperate appeals from their families for repatriation to Britain.
A Decade of Detention Without Trial
Jack Letts, who holds Canadian citizenship, has been detained without formal charge or trial for a full decade by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). He is considered a suspected ISIS militant. A convert to Islam, Letts travelled to the Middle East in 2014, eventually finding himself in ISIS-controlled Syrian territory.
He was arrested by the SDF in 2016 while attempting to flee. Despite being nicknamed "Jihadi Jack" by sections of the media, he has consistently denied being an ISIS fighter. His British citizenship was revoked in 2019.
Families Accuse Government of "Negligence and Moral Abdication"
Ms. Lane has launched a scathing attack on the UK and Canadian governments, accusing them of "negligence and moral abdication". She told The Independent, "Keir Starmer has failed British citizens, former British citizens, utterly. He's abandoned them to their deaths. We've been screaming about this for years."
She further claimed the government has "blood on their hands", adding that the current chaos means detainees "will just have to fend for themselves." She expressed disbelief that the situation has been allowed to fester for a decade without decisive action.
Rights Group Warns of "Mortal Danger" for British Children
The human rights organisation Reprieve has issued a stark warning, stating that British children are now in "mortal danger" as a direct consequence of the UK government's policy. They describe this policy as negligent, citing the stripping of parents' citizenship and the refusal to repatriate families.
Maya Foa, Chief Executive of Reprieve, called for urgent government intervention. "For family members back home in the UK, the fragments of information coming out of Camp Roj and Al-Hol are terrifying," she said, urging the repatriation of all British nationals at the earliest opportunity.
Wider Context of Syrian Conflict and Detention Crisis
The clashes occur against a backdrop of failed talks between Damascus and Kurdish-led authorities seeking autonomy in north-east Syria. Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa, a former Islamist rebel, has sought to centralise control after over a decade of civil war.
This week, government forces swept through areas long held by the SDF. Amid the chaos, there have been traded accusations about escaped ISIS suspects, with reports suggesting up to 200 may now be at large from various prisons.
The Syrian defence ministry has pledged to take over the camps and prisons, accusing the SDF of using detainees as "bargaining chips" to sow chaos. The SDF stated it remains committed to ceasefire agreements and open to dialogue.
Scale of the Detention Problem
The scale of the detention issue is vast:
- An estimated 9,000 men accused of being ISIS militants are held in prisons, including around 10 men linked to the UK like Jack Letts.
- Approximately 42,000 others, primarily women and children linked to male ISIS suspects, are held in the al Hol and Roj camps.
- The most high-profile detainee is Shamima Begum, who, like Letts, was stripped of her British citizenship in 2019, rendering her stateless.
Ms. Lane, who was previously given a suspended sentence for attempting to send money to her son, has spent years campaigning for his repatriation, even if it meant he faced investigation and trial in the UK. She fears he has been tortured by his guards and is now trapped by the rapidly deteriorating security situation.
"The families have agreed to everything in the past decade from the government, including that their relatives can be put on trial," she lamented. "Even that wasn't good enough. They have still been abandoned."
