Four Canadian men detained in Syria are asking the Supreme Court of Canada to reconsider their pleas for a hearing that could open the door to their freedom.
In November, the Supreme Court declined to hear the men’s challenge of a Federal Court of Appeal ruling that said Ottawa is not obligated under the law to repatriate them.
In a notice filed with the top court, lawyers for the men say exceedingly rare circumstances warrant another look at the application for leave to appeal.
Following its usual custom, the court gave no reasons for refusing to examine the matter.
The detained Canadians are among the many foreign nationals in ramshackle detention centres run by Kurdish forces that wrested the war-ravaged region from militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
In the newly filed notice, lawyers for the men say there is a “constitutional imperative” for the top court to agree to hear a case when the evidence reveals issues of public importance grounded in serious breaches of basic human rights.