US judge orders Chinese Muslims freed from Guantanamo

AFP, October, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US federal judge Tuesday ordered a group of 17 Chinese Uighurs held at the Guantanamo Bay military jail in Cuba to be released onto American soil, officials said.

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, and the government of President George W. Bush swiftly said it planned to appeal the decision.

The 17 Muslim Uighurs were officially declared no longer "enemy combatants" by the government earlier this year, but officials had maintained they could continue to hold the men at Guantanamo Bay if no other country accepted them.

The White House condemned the ruling saying it paved the way for extremists to demand the same freedom, and added it would...