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The young British-Canadian jihadist "Jihadi Jack" was stripped of his British nationality after joining the Islamic state in Syria. (illustration picture) DELIL SOULEIMAN / AFP

A 24-year-old British-Canadian man, who has been held in northern Syria for more than two years, has been stripped of his British citizenship, according to reports released Sunday (August 18th) by the British magazine Mail on Sunday . Even though the British authorities have not confirmed this decision, this would be one of the last feats of the Theresa May government before she left. On the Canadian side, the Minister of the Interior deplores this decision for "Jihadi Jack".

With our correspondent in Quebec, Pascale Guericolas

Canada's Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale said he was " disappointed " in a media release about the British citizenship of young Canadian Jack Letts.

Nicknamed "Jihadi Jack", the young man left England in May 2014 for Jordan, before heading to Kuwait and Iraq, where he got married.

Converted to Islam at age 16, Jack Letts joined ISIS in Syria . A year later, in 2017, a Kurdish militia captured him and locked him in a prison in northern Syria.

Thanks to his Canadian citizenship, inherited from his family, he could in theory be extradited to Canada, because unlike Britain, terrorists and people guilty of espionage or high treason can retain their citizenship, even if they they are bi-nationals.

In the case of "Jihadi Jack," the minister said that there is no legal requirement for Canada to facilitate the return of its fellow citizens detained in Syria. Especially since Canadian diplomacy no longer has representation in this country.