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Uighur Guantanamo detainees seek contempt charge for US defense secretary

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

[JURIST] Lawyers for five Uighur detainees at Guantanamo Bay on Friday moved to have Defense Secretary Robert Gates held in contempt after failing to have them freed or transferred. The motions refer to a June 2008 order from the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit requiring that the Uighurs be transferred, released, or given a new Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT). The motions state that Gates has conceded that the government will not convene a new CSRT and claims that the difficulty of finding a proper country for transfer is a problem of the government's making. Since there is no dispute that Gates is able to comply with the order, the motions argue, he should be held in contempt. The motions assert that deferring to Gates' status as an officer in the executive branch would render the judicial power "hollow." US Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters Wednesday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would consider accepting in the US the 17 Uighur detainees who have been cleared for release. The DOJ has declined to repatriate the Uighurs despite Chinese demands because they could face torture upon their return. 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. In February, Sweden's Migration Court granted asylum to a former Uighur Guantanamo detainee. 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 22, 2009 (boomark / email).