OneWorld.net (U.S.)

OneWorld.net's take: After nearly seven years of detention, and four years after being cleared for release by the U.S. government, a U.S. judge has ended the global legal limbo of 17 Guantanamo Bay detainees of Chinese Uighur descent, saying they must be released into the United States by Friday.

• Uighur woman and child in Kashgar, western China. © sheilaz413 (flickr)"For [China's] Han majority, racial diversity is considered a threat to national integrity and differing interpretations of history underpin tense relations with China's national minorities," writes OneWorld UK in its country guide on China, adding: "The presence of oil reserves in Xinjiang adds a further sensitive dimension to relations with the Uighurs whose political aspirations are kept in check by accusations of Islamic extremism."

• Uighurs are a Turkic-speaking people who only came under China's rule in the mid-19th century and still refer to their territory as East Turkestan, explains Jim Lobe in a 2004 article for OneWorld.net. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent creation of Central Asian states ethnically related to the Uighurs sparked a wave of nationalism among the Uighurs. "Since the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, the Chinese government has been using 'anti-terrorism' as a pretext to increase its crackdown on all forms of political or religious dissent in the [Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region]," said Amnesty International in a July 2004 report, which also said the Chinese government had detained tens of thousands of people in the province since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The vast majority of those detained are believed never to have used or advocated violence. In addition to detaining tens of thousands of Uighurs, the Chinese government shut down a number of mosques, banned some religious schools and practices, subjected Islamic clergy to "political education," and banned or burned tens of thousands of Uighur books.

• Guantanamo Bay lookout tower. © USMARINE0311 (flickr)With both presidential candidates in agreement about the need to close Guantanamo, (see OneWorld.net's "Campaign '08" edition of Perspectives for more on the canadidates' stances on key global issues) a New York-based human rights group has unveiled a detailed, multi-phased blueprint to get it done within a year. Human Rights First's plan offers a step-by-step strategy for closing Guantanamo that "minimizes the risk to America's national security and ensures that detainees suspected of committing crimes against the United States are prosecuted in fair proceedings."

Judge Orders Release of 17 Guantanamo Uighurs Into the US

From: Human Rights Watch

Ina landmark decision on October 7, 2008 a US federal judge ordered thata group of Chinese Uighurs being held at Guantanamo Bay be releasedinto the United States by Friday, October 10. The US hadcleared the Uighurs of the “enemy combatant” designation, but did notreturn them to their native China due to credible fears of torture.

“Once again, a federal court rejected the Bush administration’s theory that its own determination can trump judicialreview and constitutional rights,” said Jennifer Daskal, seniorcounterterrorism counsel at Human Rights Watch. “After nearly sevenyears of detention without charge, the Uighurs being held at Guantanamowill finally be provided the legal relief they deserve.”

Inissuing his decision, US District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina said it wouldbe wrong for the Bush administration to continue holding the detaineesbecause the Constitution prohibits indefinite imprisonment withoutcharges.

“The government should not drag its feet, but should immediately release these men from their unlawful confinement at Guantanamo,” Daskal said.

US: Parole Uighur Detainees Into the United States

Uighurs Still Held at Guantanamo Despite Being Cleared of ‘Enemy Combatant’ Status  

From: Human Rights Watch

(Washington,DC, October 6, 2008) – A group of Chinese Uighurs who have been clearedof the “enemy combatant” designation should be freed from Guantanamoand given parole status in the United States, Human Rights Watch saidtoday. Their case will be heard by a federal judge in the District ofColumbia on Tuesday, October 7.

"The Uighur detainees have been held at Guantanamo for nearly sevenyears, even though the government acknowledges they should be freed.Since Washington has failed to resettle the Uighurs elsewhere, itshould parole them into the United States."
- Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel, Human Rights Watch.There are currently 17 Uighurs in Guantanamo– most of whom were turned over from Pakistan to the United States forbounties in late 2001. The US government cleared these detainees forrelease by 2004, but they were not returned to China due to crediblefears that they would be tortured upon return. For several years, theUS government has tried to convince other countries to resettle theUighurs. In 2006, Albania agreed to take in five of them, but no othercountry has offered to do so, in part because of US unwillingness toaccept any released Guantanamo detainees itself.

“The Uighur detainees have been held at Guantanamo fornearly seven years, even though the government acknowledges they shouldbe freed,” said Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel atHuman Rights Watch. “Since Washington has failed to resettle theUighurs elsewhere, it should parole them into the United States.”

There is general agreement as to the circumstances of thearrest of most of the Guantanamo Uighurs. They were living together ina Uighur camp in Afghanistan and when the US-led coalition bombingcampaign began in October 2001, a group of them fled into themountains. Arab travelers promised to take them to a safe house inPakistan, but instead turned them over to Pakistani authorities who, inturn, handed them over to the United States – reportedly for largebounties. They have been in US custody ever since.

The United States has claimed that the Uighur detainees areassociated with the East Turkmenistan Islamist Movement, which the Bushadministration designated a terrorist organization in August 2002. TheUighurs have denied these associations, and assert that any suchassociation is irrelevant since the group was not declared a terroristorganization until well after they were taken into captivity.

In June 2008, a US federal appeals court ruled that one ofthese detainees, Hazaifa Parhat, had been improperly classified as an“enemy combatant,” and ordered the government to either reassess hisstatus, release him, or transfer him out of Guantanamo. In response,the government declared that Parhat – as well as the other 16 Uighurdetainees – were “no longer enemy combatants,” but maintains that itcan continue to hold them in Guantanamo unless and until anothercountry is willing to accept them. The US Justice Department arguesthat US courts do not have the power to order the executive to transferthe Uighurs to the United States.  

“If the court can determine someone is unlawfully beingdetained, it must also have the power to order release,” said Daskal.“The Bush administration wants to turn the courts handling Guantanamocases into mere advisory bodies, which it can ignore at will.”

The Uighurs are requesting that they be granted temporaryparole into the United States pending a final determination of theirhabeas petition, through which they are challenging the legality oftheir detention in federal court. If their parole request is granted,they would be likely be subject to travel restrictions and monitoringby the civilian court system.