East Turkestan: Guantanamo Appeal Rejected
The US Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by two Chinese Muslims who are seeking release from the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba.
The judges declined to hear their case because the men are due to have a hearing
in a lower court next month.
A US federal judge has already said their detention is unlawful, but ruled
that he could not order their release.
The pair - both ethnic Uighurs - were mistakenly captured as enemy combatants
in Pakistan more than four years ago.
'Unable to return'
The US military determined a year ago that Abu Bakker Qassim and A'del Abdu
al-Hakim were not "enemy combatants" as had been thought when they
were captured in Pakistan in 2001.
However, the Bush administration says it cannot return the Uighurs to China
because they would face persecution there.
It does not want to admit them to the US, and cannot find another country
to take them.
Beijing has frequently cracked down on Uighur dissidents, who are seeking
autonomy in the country's north-western Xinjiang province.
The Chinese government accuses Uighur militants of waging a bombing and assassination
campaign, and receiving training at al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.
The two men have been held at Guantanamo since June 2002. The detention centre
has about 490 inmates, 15 of whom are believed to be Chinese Uighurs.
Their case could return to the Supreme Court after the lower court hearing.
Chinese President Hu Jintao is due to arrive in the US on Tuesday and will
hold talks with US President George W Bush on Thursday.
Correspondents say the Uighur problem at Guantanamo Bay is illustrative of
the complex issues facing the two leaders, but that it is unlikely either
side will raise the subject at their meeting.
