October 10, 2008	Friday	Shawwal 10, 1429

WASHINGTON, Oct 9: A US appeals court has temporarily blocked the release of 17 Chinese Muslim Uighurs from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp as President George Bush’s administration scrambles to appeal it.

Under a lower court order, the men were to be brought to Washington as soon as Friday, but a three-judge panel at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia halted the process “pending further order of the court.” “The purpose of this administrative stay is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the merits of the motion for stay pending appeal and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion,” read an order issued on Wednesday.

A US federal judge on Tuesday had ordered the group to be released in the United States in a major blow to the US administration, which swiftly said it planned to appeal.

Judge Ricardo Urbina ordered the 17 men, held at Guantanamo for nearly seven years, brought before him in Washington on Friday to be introduced to some Uighur families who would take them in. It was the first time a court had ordered that “war on terror” prisoners detained at the US base should be released onto US soil.

The 17 were officially declared no longer “enemy combatants” by the government in June, and the US government approved their release back in 2004.

But officials had maintained they could continue to hold the men at Guantanamo Bay if no other country accepted them.

The Uighurs were not returned to China due to credible fears they would be tortured upon return.

The White House condemned Tuesday’s ruling, saying it paved the way for extremists to demand the same freedom, and added it would continue to work to find another country to take in the men.

“The district court’s ruling, if allowed to stand, could be used as precedent for other detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, including sworn enemies of the United States suspected of planning the attacks of 9/11, who may also seek release into our country,” spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

The Justice Department said the ruling presented “serious national security and separation of powers concerns and raises unprecedented legal issues.” “In response to today’s ruling, we are filing an emergency motion for stay pending appeal tonight with the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit,” the Department said in a statement.

For years the United States has attempted to persuade other countries to resettle the group, recognising that the Turkic-speaking minority has been widely persecuted by Chinese authorities.

Only Albania has agreed to take the Uighurs, welcoming a group of five in 2006, who now live far from their homes with no possibility of returning to their families any time soon.

The group was living in a self-contained camp in Afghanistan when the US-led coalition bombing campaign began in October 2001.

They fled to the mountains, but were turned over to Pakistani authorities, who then handed them to the United States.

The US government fears the ruling could have widespread effects on other cases before the federal courts, with some 250 detainees still held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, many of whom are challenging their detentions.

Lawyers representing the 17 men argued the government’s motion to stay the release order could prolong their incarceration for months or years, if Supreme Court review is sought.

“Granting the stay means perpetual imprisonment for 17 men whom the Government concedes are not ‘enemy combatants’ and ‘should be free to go,’” they wrote in a brief submitted to the court.

China Demands: China on Thursday again urged the United States to repatriate the group.

“These 17 terrorist suspects are members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement which is listed as a terrorist organisation by the UN Security Council,” foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told journalists in Beijing.

“We hope the United States will abide by the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions, honor its obligations, fulfil its commitment to fight terrorism and repatriate these people at an early date.” ”Some people have worried that they may be tortured, but this is biased,” Qin said.

“China is a nation ruled by law where torture is forbidden. After they are repatriated, judicial authorities will deal with them in accordance with the law.”—AFP