Briton accused of being Islamic State terrorists seen in Syrian prison
Jack Letts, the British-Canadian ISIS member more commonly known as “Jihadi Jack”, appears to have been found at a Syrian detention centre.
Footage of Letts, who was detained by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces more than two years ago, shows him to be gaunt and thin as he lies topless on his side in a crowded room with dozens of accued ISIS supporters.
His mother Sally Lane said the images of her son, who had his British citizenship stripped this year, were “heart-rending”.
This year his parents were found guilty of funding terrorism and given suspended prison sentences for sending Letts £223 (Dh1,010) in 2015 to help him escape Syria.
He is believed to have travelled to Syria in 2014 at the age of 16.
The case of Letts, a convert to Islam, attracted particular attention because of his middle-class background.
“It’s heart-rending to see your son like this and to feel so completely powerless,” Lane told the Mail on Sunday.
“We have been pressing the Red Cross for months to tell us what the jail is really like but they always refuse, saying that to release this information would jeopardise their access.
“I suppose I always hoped Jack was exaggerating, but now it’s clear that he wasn’t and that it’s worse than my worst nightmares.”
His parents have slammed the UK government’s decision to strip Letts of his citizenship, saying it leaves him in a limbo with no end in sight.
“I was horrified,” Lane said. “He had told us there were 35 being held in his cell and that prisoners were forced to lie on the floor, and you can see that’s true.
“He said in his last letter he was never allowed out or to see the sun, and we must assume that must be true as well.”
John Letts, his father, said: “It’s very difficult to see a photo of the son you love and took care of, sleeping half-naked on a concrete floor crammed in a room with so many others, equally emaciated and suffering.
“Is this really the best way for our democracy to deal with this issue?”
Letts has always insisted he was not a fighter. But he has appeared to use social media to make threatening posts against British soldiers.
Source: The National
