Two Canadian women and at least one child have been released from an ISIS detention center in Syria, CTV News confirmed. The women include Kimberly Polman, who was arrested by Kurdish militants in Syria in 2019 and jailed for her alleged connection to IS.
The other woman and her daughter have not been identified. Polman is expected to arrive in Montreal Tuesday night. Polman has insisted she was lured to Syria in 2015 by her husband, an ISIS member she met online.
Speaking to CTV National News in early 2022, Polman described the dire conditions at the camp and his deteriorating health. "Mentally I was going downhill, especially last year," Polman said at the time. "I have attempted suicide several times and I can see serious signs of depression in some other Canadian women as well. Polman, the other woman and the child were being held at the Roj camp in northeastern Syria, which currently houses more than 2,600 internally displaced persons (IDPs), and reportedly includes the wives, widows and families of ISIS members.
Nearly 50 Canadians are believed to be held in camps like this one in north-eastern Syria run by US-backed Kurdish fighters. According to Human Rights Watch, more than half of these Canadians are children, many under the age of 7. Canada appears reluctant to repatriate adult citizens from Syrian detention camps, while countries such as Germany, Denmark and France have arranged releases with the help of local Kurdish officials. In September
In 2021, Ottawa attorney Lawrence Greenspon sued the federal government on behalf of 11 families to bring 26 Canadians home from Syria: 14 children, four men and eight women, including Polman. terrible conditions and we will go to federal court to try to require Global Affairs Canada to file an official request for his repatriation," Greenspon told CTV National News on Tuesday. “All they [Syrian Kurdish officials] need is an official
request from Canada for this to happen. Greenspon submitted a similar application in 2020 for a five-year-old orphan who was brought to Canada to live with relatives after a Canadian delegation met with Kurdish officials to finalize her release. Four more A two-year-old girl was brought to Canada from a Syrian camp in 2021, but her Canadian mother stayed behind.
Greenspon is still awaiting official confirmation from Global Affairs Canada on Polman's release; Once verified, he says this will be a significant step forward.” As Global Affairs Canada is participating in the repatriation of an adult woman for the first time, it gives hope to all remaining Canadians that they will hopefully be brought home as soon as possible . possible," said Greenspon, who is now trying to repatriate 23 Canadians in Syria. "Our position has always been that more than 20,
countries have so far successfully and safely repatriated thousands of their citizens. In January 2021, Global Affairs Canada quietly adopted a policy framework which might have allowed Polman to qualify for "extraordinary assistance" and due repatriation to an "imminent life-threatening illness with no possibility of medical treatment" in Syria.
Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In February 2022, United Nations human rights experts issued a press release urging Canadian authorities to deport Polman, "who is suffering from life-threatening illnesses and is being held in a camp in conditions that border on the verge of cruel, inhuman and degrading torture." Treatment is increasing." An investigation by MSF found that Polman suffered from diseases such as hepatitis. She is able to improve her health and living conditions, is a clear violation of her right to health and may be a violation of her right to life and the prohibition of cruel and inhuman treatment,” UN experts said.
According to a February 2022 Human Rights Watch article, Global Affairs Canada only had to email the relevant Kurdish authorities in Syria to secure the release of Polman and an unidentified child; A former US ambassador even agreed to escort them to the nearest Canadian consulate in Erbil, capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, to ensure Canadian officials are not in danger.” Kurdish-led authorities reunited him with tens of thousands of other foreigners, Syrians and Iraqis in the region,” said Farida Deif, Human Rights Watch Canada director. “The women and children were taken to internment camps. , the men were imprisoned. In a 2020 report, Human Rights Watch described Polman as a U.
- Canadian citizen with dual citizenship who converted to Islam as an adult and lived primarily in Canada before traveling to Syria to become a nurse for ISIS. Although Polman has expressed remorse and regret for his decisions, Deif says there was a "lack of political commitment". willingness" to bring prisoners like her home. "
- While we appreciate the steps that have been taken to repatriate a handful of Canadians, in reality this type of phased approach that the Canadian government is taking is ineffective," Deif added. “Everyone should be repatriated to Canada in
, rehabilitated, reintegrated, and anyone who has committed crimes should be prosecuted here in Canada for those crimes. Alexandra Bain, director of Families Against Violent Extremism, says some have been detained in Syria for four years. .
"Canada failed these people: they never sent food, they never sent water, they never sent medicine, they never sent children's books," Bain told CTV National News. “Our organization has gone four times and we are preparing for a fifth and the Canadian government has done absolutely nothing to help these families. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday, Prime Ministers Justin and Trudeau and Minister for Public Safety Marco Mendicino said, “Of course we are aware that Canadians are being held in Syria and we spend a lot of time monitoring and closely monitoring them with stakeholders what's going on," Trudeau said. "We pay particular attention to the welfare of the children of this country," but as you know, I'm not commenting on direct operations.
Mendicino said it is up to law enforcement to decide whether women can be charged in Canada. will be subject to the full force of the law," the Public Security Minister said. "Our primary concern will always be the safety of Canadians."