Supreme Court asked to reconsider hearing case of Canadian men detained in Syria

In a rare move, lawyers representing four Canadian men held in prisons in northeastern Syria have asked Canada's top court to reconsider its decision not to hear their claim that Canada has a duty to bring them home.

The detained Canadian men include Jack Letts, who ended up in Syria after becoming a devoted Muslim as a teenager and then going on holiday in Jordan.

They are among tens of thousands of Syrians and foreign nationals being held in the region by Kurdish-led forces at camps and prisons for ISIS suspects and their families. Kurdish-led forces reclaimed the region in 2019 from the extremist group.

Letts' family received proof their son was alive this past summer after years of uncertainty. That same year, the Supreme Court of Canada chose not to hear the appeal of the four men.

The court says it considers such judgments to be final and won't reconsider them unless there are «exceedingly rare circumstances.»

Ottawa lawyer Lawrence Greenspon said this is the first time in his more than 40 years in law that he's been involved in asking the Supreme Court to consider such rare circumstances.

«The rare circumstances are that it's a matter of life and death for Canadians in a foreign jurisdiction that has encouraged Canada to repatriate its citizens,» said Greenspon, who represents two of the men.

«Those circumstances have never been replicated before.»

The U.S. warned in December that the Syrian Democratic Forces coalition manages the «largest concentration of detained terrorists in the world» and there could be a "possible resurgence of ISIS" if countries fail to repatriate their citizens.

Five lawyers, including Greenspon, have now asked the Supreme Court to reconsider hearing a challenge of a Federal Court of Appeal ruling