WASHINGTON, Nov 25: Lawyers for 17 Muslim Uighurs held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, renewed an appeal for their release onto United States soil on Monday saying US authorities could not hold them indefinitely.

The case, which has proven a headache for the United States administration, was back before the courts after the government appealed a decision last month that all 17 prisoners of Chinese-nationality should be freed in the United States.

“They can’t be detained indefinitely,” said Sabin Willett, representing the 17 who have languished in the US military “war on terror” camp in Cuba for more than six years without charge.

But despite arguments from their lawyers that the base was a prison, government lawyer Gregory Carre said the men were being held in “relatively unrestricted conditions” in Guantanamo Bay.

“It’s regrettable they are in this situation, but we are actively seeking another country to take them,” he said.

The group has been held in limbo at Guantanamo despite being cleared for release by the US government because officials can not find a country willing to take them.—AFP