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Uighur Guantanamo detainees may be released into US: Holder

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters Wednesday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will consider accepting in the US the 17 Uighur Guantanamo Bay detainees who have been cleared for release. The DOJ is still exploring where to transfer cleared detainees, and has declined to repatriate the Uighurs despite Chinese demands because they have been linked to a militant separatist group and could face torture upon their return. Holder's comments follow the February ruling of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, which rejected an October district court order supporting the US release of Uighurs. The circuit court reserved such a decision for either the executive or legislative branch. On Monday, Holder and other top officials from the Obama administration met with leaders from the European Union (EU) to discuss plans to transfer detainees from Guantanamo Bay to European countries, assuring EU leaders that the US will provide them with thorough background information about the detainees. In February, Sweden's Migration Court granted asylum to a former Uighur Guantanamo detainee, overruling a previous asylum denial. The city of Munich, Germany, home to a sizeable Uighur community, has expressed willingness to welcome the 17 Uighurs. In 2006, Albania granted asylum to five Uighurs after their release from Guantanamo.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 19, 2009 (boomark / email).