October 07, 2008

Guantanamo Detainees May Find Refuge in U.S.

A federal judge ordered the release of a small group of Chinese Muslims from Guantanamo Bay into the U.S.

In a landmark decision, U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina said it would be wrong for the Bush administration to continue holding the detainees, known as Uighurs, since they are no longer considered enemy combatants.

They have been in custody for almost seven years and have been cleared for release since 2004. Although the Chinese government has demanded custody of the Uighurs, supporters and the Bush administration fear they would be tortured if turned over to Beijing.

... In Beijing, the government demanded that all Uighurs held at the naval prison in Cuba be repatriated to China.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the Uighurs are suspected of being members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which the U.S. lists as a terrorist organization.

... The Uighurs have been at Guantanamo Bay since the U.S. military took custody of them in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2001. Efforts by the Bush administration to find a home for the detainees has been complicated by fears in many countries of diplomatic reprisals by China. In 2006, Albania gave refuge to five Uighurs from Guantanamo amid Chinese protests.

Posted by Anupam Chander on October 7, 2008 at 09:18 AM in Globalization | Permalink