Historic court order: Release 17 Guantanamo detainees
October 7th, 2008
In an historic decision, a US judge orders the release of 17 Guantanamo detainees into the US, since they can’t safely be sent back to China. The Center for Constitutional Rights has the details:
Court Orders Release of 17 Innocent Guantanamo Detainees into U.S.
Tallahassee and D.C. Religious and Community Leaders Offer Plan for Men’s Support
Contact: press@ccrjustice.org
October 7, 2008, New York – Today, for the first time, a federal court ordered the release into the United States of 17 innocent Uighur men who have been imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay for nearly seven years. The men are refugees who would face persecution and imprisonment, if not death, if returned to their native China.
“In the history of our Republic, the military never imprisoned any man so harshly, and for so long, let alone men who are not the enemy. We have broken faith with the rule of law, and been untrue to the generosity of spirit that is our national character,” said Sabin Willett, Partner at Bingham McCutchen who argued the case for the detainees today.
“This is a historic day for the U.S. Finally, we are beginning the process of taking responsibility for our mistakes and fixing them,” said CCR Attorney Emi MacLean. “For years, the United States has begged other countries to clean up the mess we made in Guantanamo, but the hypocrisy of this appeal was evident abroad. Perhaps now other countries will be less reluctant to come to our aid.” MacLean continued, “Allowing these wrongfully detained men a fresh start would also provide the U.S. a fresh start – an opportunity to turn a page and finally take a position of leadership in closing Guantanamo.”
Religious and community leaders from both Tallahassee, Florida and the Washington D.C. area offered to the court detailed plans for the support of the men, from housing and counseling to employment and car insurance. In this stunning show of goodwill and solidarity, 20 leaders from faith-based communities in Tallahassee, Florida, and a network of refugee resettlement agencies and other religious groups, have pledged to help settle the men in local communities. Many members of the Uighur community came to court today to lend support.
Said Mr. Willett, “The volunteers who come to court today from church and community, from synagogue and mosque to offer sanctuary to these men bear true faith to that character, and give us hope that the better angel of our nature can yet return.”
On the day of the hearing, Congressmen Bill Delahunt (D-MA) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) also reiterated their June call for the U.S. to grant protection to the imprisoned Uighurs.
The 17 men currently imprisoned at Guantanamo left China amid increasing political oppression and found their way to Afghanistan, where they lived in small Uighur communities. In late 2001, they were forced to flee the aerial bombardment of the surrounding areas. Eventually, they made their way to Pakistan in the belief that they would be safer there. After crossing into Pakistan, the Uighurs were welcomed and fed by Pakistani villagers who then turned them over for generous bounties offered by the United States.
Last week, after years of litigation, the U.S. government finally conceded that none of these men would be treated as “enemy combatants.” All were cleared for release long ago. However, because of the stigma of their detention at Guantánamo and for fear of offending China, no other country had agreed to offer these men safe haven. Despite this failure to find a third country to take them, the government argued that the court could not release them into the U.S. and, therefore, that the men would have to stay at Guantanamo indefinitely.
For more information on the Uighurs’ story, click here.
UPDATE: Here is the court order:
District of Columbia
Notice of Electronic Filing
The following transaction was entered on 10/7/2008 at 2:09 PM and filed on 10/7/2008
Case Name: IN RE: GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEE LITIGATION Case Number: 1:08-mc-442 Filer: Document Number: No document attached Docket Text:
Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Ricardo M. Urbina: Motion Hearing held on 10/7/2008. Motion [133] for judgment on 5 Detainees’ Habeas Petition Order Release Into the Continental United States, heard and GRANTED; Motion [134] for Immediate Release on Parole Into the Continental United States Pending Final Judgment DENIED as MOOT; and Motion [172] for Immediate Release on Parole Into the Continental United States Pending Final Judgment and for Final Judgment on Their Habeas Petitions by the remaining detainees DENIED as to the first part and GRANTED as to the second part. Oral Motion by Defendant for a Stay of the Court’s decision pending review and to seek an appeal, heard and DENIED. Oral Motion by Defendant for one (1) Week Administrative Stay, heard and DENIED. Court rules that the Uighurs Detainees be released into the United States and brought to this Court on Friday, October 10, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. A Hearing regarding conditions of their release is scheduled for 10/16/2008, at 2:00 p.m. The Court directs that a representative of Homeland Security be present for the hearing scheduled on Friday, October 16, 2008. (Court Reporter Catalina Kerr.) (jwd )
There are others for each individual case.
Entry Filed under: Interrogation, Law