Matthew Behrens

Jack Letts has been arbitrarily detained without charge under horrible conditions in NE Syria for 8 years. Also held illegally for years are 19 other Canadian women, children & men. Sign and share to bring them home: chng.it/C5tc5vHN

Canada takes a big step toward troops in Iran war open.substack.com/pub/stevenstap…

Thanks to all who advocated to stop this inhumanity. Yet this is becoming more frequent as Canada's ICE, the CBSA, ramps up deportations under Carney. cbc.ca/news/canada/pu…

War is killing or injuring the equivalent of one classroom of children every day in Lebanon. Israeli strikes have killed 111 children and wounded more than 330 in the last two weeks -- nearly 30 kids every day. reuters.com/world/middle-e…

“A woman who worked at the UN who was sexually harassed in her job went through the additional ordeal of seeking justice in the UN system. Ultimately, it failed to protect her, she writes in an op-ed anonymously.” passblue.com/2026/03/12/whe…

Carney has billions for war but pennies for women seeking to save themselves from male violence

my response to Mayor Mamdani, the reporters calling me, etc.

What words are left after disgraceful, disavowal, callous and unprincipled? Canadian government officials have - for over 15 months - been sitting on detailed, compelling submissions from the families of Canadian citizens (including children) who have been unlawfully imprisoned, and cravenly abandoned, in prison camps and jails in NE Syria for years (without any end in sight). Submissions that lay out the very clear international legal obligations at stake; and the cruel hardship and suffering these men and children (and their mothers) continue to endure. No word of response, not even an indication as to when there might be a response. And it was the government that invited the submissions. Now as the conditions on the ground in Syria change dramatically, many of those Canadian prisoners have been or may be transferred to Iraq (lots of confusion and uncertainty about who is where). In Iraq, urgent human rights concerns persist, but it is at least much more straightforward for Canada to provide consular assistance and push ahead with repatriation to Canada. And just when there had been an indication that Canada was finally readying to do the right and lawful thing and bring the Canadians home (where any concerns about association with ISIS or other criminality can, and should, be addressed in our legal system), instead this determined effort to correct the record: “This information is incorrect... Canada is not currently in the process of repatriating any detained Canadians from Iraq." 2 1/2 years ago when our humanitarian mission visited many of the detained Canadians in NE Syria I somehow naively believed that within a year this blatant injustice would be rectified. I assumed there was a point when we would be unwilling to keep turning our back on human rights and just plain decency. How wrong I was. How wrong. This contempt for international human rights has to end. Order repatriation and order it now @MarkJCarney, @AnitaAnandMP, @gary_srp. halifax.citynews.ca/2026/03/13/can…

"We have been here for nine months,” wrote the 9-year-old. “Please get us out.” "I miss my bear," the 5-year-old said. In letters & drawings, the longest-held family at the Dilley ICE detention center describe it as "slowly killing us on the inside." texastribune.org/2026/03/11/el-…

Just how close is Carney's government to big business? So close that when it came time to gather feedback on Bill C-5 — the government didn't do it, the Chamber of Commerce did: for @readthemaple readthemaple.com/carney-governm…

🇨🇦 gov has told me - in relation to last month's rendition of 5 Canadians, incl my son, to death penalty in Iraq - that it 'cannot interfere in the judicial process of another country or influence the outcome of a court process' @judyatrinh @AshleyBurkeCBC @JimBronskill Utter pathetic hypocrisy at its finest Compare, if you will, with Canada's response when the 'two Michaels' were arbitarily detained on false charges of espionage by China in 2018, and held for 3 years (compared to 9 years & counting for Jack) According to BBC, 'China's court system is completely controlled by the Communist Party and has an almost 100% conviction rate once defendants are charged' So far, so similar - i.e. Iraq also has almost 100% conviction rate on counter-terrorism charges, with the sentence being death by hanging However, Canada's response to China's judicial treatment of the 'two Michaels' compared to the Iraq's judicial treatment of 5 Canadian men could not be more different See sample statements on Cda trying to effect the 'two Michaels' release between 2018-2021: 'Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said she was "heartbroken and really angry" when she heard the pair had been charged, adding that Canada "will not rest" until they come home' 'Mr Trudeau said he was "concerned and disappointed" by the charges against Mr Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Mr Spavor, a businessman, calling their detention "arbitrary"' 'Canada is working "very actively" to bring home two of its citizens charged with spying in China, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said.'' 'Michael Kovrig’s employer, the International Crisis Group, thanked the Canadian government for “their brave and unstinting pursuit of his freedom”' 'The Canadian government has sought the support of allies such as Britain, France, Germany and the US to pressure China for the pair's release' @GAC_Corporate - Which of these statements above describing the situation of the two Michaels indicate that gov of Canada is 'unable to interfere in the judicial process of another country or influence the outcome of a court process'? Genuine question - please reply @ElizabethMay @HMcPhersonNDP @DonDavies

Bring them home now. toronto.citynews.ca/2026/03/04/mot…

@DevorahMargolin I think it is always critical to note that calling them all ISIS fighters is inaccurate, inflammatory and condemning people without proper investigation and trial. Many oppose ISIS, were caught in the region unable to escape, or jailed because of being Arab.

Rudaw: An official from Iraq’s Justice Ministry said on Thursday that Baghdad will not extradite foreign fighters of the Islamic State group (ISIS) before they stand trial in Iraqi courts, adding that some countries have expressed willingness to repatriate their nationals. “None of the ISIS members will be extradited to their countries unless investigations and trials are concluded in Iraq” rudaw.net/english/middle…

@Shtuni I think it is always critical to note that calling them all ISIS fighters is inaccurate, inflammatory and condemning people without proper investigation and trial. Many oppose ISIS, were caught in the region unable to escape. or jailed because of being Arab.

Baghdad will not extradite #ISIS fighters before trial in #Iraq - Foreign suspects will be prosecuted under Iraq’s Penal Code No. 111 of 1969. - Some countries have shown readiness to take back their nationals “but it is too early to speak about this.” rudaw.net/english/middle…

That Joury & her brothers had to share their deep, heavy emotions today at all is a shame on Canada's government, which forces such children to bear their traumatized souls before media & the nation for the simplest of pleas: bring our mother here now. thestar.com/news/canada/gi…

We need more people to tell these accounts on-the-record. Karen Newton, a British grandmother who worked at a primary school and had a valid visa for the US, was detained for 6 weeks by ICE. At one point, she was shackled and left on the floor of a cell. theguardian.com/us-news/2026/f…

@sfrantzman Reprieve estimates two-third of the women were trafficked. Hundreds were Yazidi survivors. Others thrown in due to anti-Arab racism. Yes, better coverage needed, but also of the demographics: MANY opposed ISIS, as documented by Amnesty, MSF, Save the Children.

The bad information on Al-Hol never ceases to amaze me. Every responsible report on this should mention that most of the people were children, and that the others were adult women. It should also mention that they were destained in 2019 and had links to ISIS and dumped in Al-Hol without a right to due process, with no investigations or trials; a complete denial of basic rights and logic. They didn’t “escape” and they are not “at large”…you can’t escape from being detained in limbo forever without charge. They are not charged with any crimes. If someone wanted to charge them, there were 90 countries in the coalition and they could have supported a judicial process. They chose not to. Any report should wrestle with the basic facts. 50,000 women and children were dumped in Al-Hol, the adults had links to ISIS; no one bothered to investigate them. They just left them there. People from 60 countries. Many young children. This was a bad policy. Wrapping it up is a good thing. You can’t do this forever. Charge the worst women with crimes and let the others move on. If you can pay to deradicalize them, great . That’s the only failure here is funding for education and integration back to society. Don’t excuse the bad policy that led to Al-Hol. In Iraq they didn’t keep all the ISIS wives and children detained. In Syria we dropped the ball in terms of figuring this out and kicked the can down the road. Any report should mention how we got here and who these people are.

Family members demand @GAC_Corporate @AnitaAnandMP @gary_srp take immediate steps to confirm status of their loved ones and repatriate them to Canada. Shuffling those detained upwards of 9 years from one legal black hole to another is plain cruelty. homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2026/02/famili…

As we press @AnitaAnandMP & @gary_srp to repatriate arbitrarily detained Canadians from NE Syria (and, now, possibly, Iraq), we demand that they not settle for one legal black hole over another, but instead return them to Canada. And media must stop using inflammatory language

@Shtuni Why do people keep painting everyone with one damning brush, when it is clear that among the detainees are victims of IS, individuals detained due to anti-Arab racism, and individuals who were captured while trying to do humanitarian work for victims of Assad?

So far, 5,383 #ISIS suspects have been brought from #Syria to #Iraq. - The last batch is expected to arrive on Sunday. - The detainees are from 14 Arab and 46 other countries, including Australia, Canada, Turkey, Germany, Britain and former Soviet Union. apnews.com/article/iraq-s…