WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the release of 17 Chinese Muslims held at the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba.
The appeals court granted the Bush administration's emergency request for a stay on a federal judge's order that the members of the Uighur ethnic group be released into the US this week.
In a sharp rebuke on Tuesday to the Bush administration, Judge Ricardo Urbina ruled that there was no evidence that the detainees, who have been held for nearly seven years, were "enemy combatants".
He ordered that the prisoners be brought to his courtroom for a hearing this morning when they would be freed and allowed to live with Uighur families in the area.
The three-judge appeals court panel yesterday said it granted the stay only to give the court more time to consider the dispute. The court said the temporary, administrative stay "should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits" of the government's request.
Although the US military no longer considers the Uighurs "enemy combatants", they have remained at Guantánamo because the United States has been unable to find a country willing to take them.
In seeking a stay, the justice department told the appeals court that diplomatic negotiations continued in an effort to find an appropriate country to send the detainees.
"We are pleased that the court of appeals granted our request for a temporary stay, and we look forward to presenting our case," department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said. - ( Reuters)