US Judge orders release of 17 Chinese Muslims from Guantanamo Bay

Thursday, 9th October 2008

Written by Francesca Cookney

A US Judge has ordered the release of 17 prisoners of the 'war on terror' from the United States detention centre, Guantanamo Bay.

District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina rebuked the US government for holding people no longer deemed enemy combatants and ordered that they be released by Friday.

His ruling was met with cheers from human rights activists who were packed into the court room, eager to hear the verdict. The 17 detainees are all Chinese Muslim Uighurs who were picked up by authorities in Pakistan and Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban in 2001 but were told in 2004 that they were no longer considered a threat.

On their number, Abdulghappar Turkistani wrote of the injustice felt by him and his fellow inmates saying that "we fail to know why we are still in jail here. Being forbidden from the natural sunlight, natural air, being surrounded with a metal box all around is not suitable for a human being".

China has frequently requested that the US repatriate the 'terror suspects' but Washington has been loathe to do so on the grounds of the suspected jail and torture that awaits the prisoners upon return to their homeland.

However, authorities have been equally reluctant to allow the Uighurs to be released in the US so unless other countries will volunteer to take them, they are now left with something of a dilemma.

Please add your comment here. Your Name *: Email (private) *: Town : Country :

Quick Links