How a Canadian judge erred in ordering the repatriation of suspected ISIS members

A woman and a child stand in a detention camp in northeast Syria in 2022. Tens of thousands of ISIS-affiliated foreign nationals are in the camps, including four Canadian men. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

In a January 2023 Federal Court decision, the government of Canada was ordered to request repatriation of four suspected ISIS members currently being held in Syria.

Lawrence Greenspon, who represents three of the detainees, said the decision “covered all the bases and covered them well” and that an appeal would therefore be difficult for the government to pursue. Similarly, socialist activist Matthew Behrens described the decision as an “important ruling with global human rights implications.”