home

Six Gitmo Uighurs Arrive in Palau

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Detainees
Posted on Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 05:13:08 PM EST
Tags: Uighurs (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

The Center for Constitutional Rights announced that six of the Uighur detainees at Guanatanamo arrived at their new temporary home in the Pacific island of Palau today (no link yet, received by e-mail). The CCR represents three of the six men:

Ahmad Tourson, Adel Noori, and Abdulghappar Abdulrahman arrived to freedom in Palau today, following nearly eight years of unjust and unlawful imprisonment in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The men, who are ethnic Uighurs from far-western China, were being held in Guantánamo despite having been cleared for release by the U.S. government years ago. Palau has generously and courageously agreed to provide a temporary home for the three men while the United States continues to search for a country where they can be permanently resettled.

[More...]

Five other Gitmo Uighurs were released to Albania in 2006 and four were taken in by Bermuda earlier this year. The U.S. Supreme Court this month accepted the case of the 13 Uighurs who were ordered released but are still being detained because no country has accepted them.

As to those who arrived in Palau today:

[T]hese men want nothing more than to live peaceful, productive lives in a free, democratic nation safe from oppression by the Chinese. Thanks to Palau, which has graciously offered them a temporary home, they now have that chance. We hope that another country will soon step forward to provide them permanent sanctuary.”

Three of those who arrived today in Palau are represented by the CCR. The other three are represented by Eric Tirschwell and other lawyers at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP. (Coindicentally, Tirschwell is also co-counsel for Bernie Kerik, who even quite recently, opined on the danger of releasing Guantanamo detainees.)

< AP: Public Option Will Only Cover 2% of Americans | Happy Halloween Open Thread >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Six Gitmo Uighurs Arrive in Palau | 2 comments (2 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

    America's own "Devil's Island." (none / 0) (#1)
    by Salo on Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 05:18:58 PM EST
    Palau: Triumph of the Willing!

    Are you referring to Peleliu? (none / 0) (#2)
    by Inspector Gadget on Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 05:36:11 PM EST
    My dad was one of the Marines who landed first on that island. He was one of the lucky ones, and only lost his right arm.

    Parent
    Six Gitmo Uighurs Arrive in Palau | 2 comments (2 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment