Related Content

• In-depth coverage of Guantánamo from The Miami Herald
• Uighurs ask U.S. Supreme Court for their freedom
• Obama lawyers: Ex-Gitmo detainees have no rights
• Holder: Some Uighur detainees could go to U.S.
• Obama panel interviews Muslims from China
• U.S. diplomat to focus on Guantánamo closure
• Uncertainty shrouds 17 unusual detainees

Uighurs ask U.S. Supreme Court for their freedom

Muslims from China now held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, asked the Supreme Court on Monday to order their release into the United States.

In court papers, a group of Uighurs says the high court should overrule a federal appeals panel in Washington, which has blocked the release of the Uighurs.

A federal judge determined in October that the Uighurs should be freed because the Pentagon no longer considered them enemy combatants. U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina said they should be allowed into this country because the administration could find no other country willing to accept them.

Holder: Some Uighur detainees could go to U.S.

Some Chinese Muslim detainees long cleared for release from the prison camps at Guantánamo Bay could be released in the United States, Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday.

During an interview with reporters, Holder was asked whether members of a group of Uighurs at the U.S. military detention facility in Cuba could be released on American soil.

''I don't know. We're trying to come up with places for them,'' Holder said.

Supreme Court agrees to consider Guantánamo Uighurs case

The Supreme Court's decision Tuesday to weigh whether a federal judge has the power to release Guantánamo Bay prisoners into the United States continues a legal tug of war begun when the Bush administration opened the overseas detention camp.

While President Barack Obama is trying to close Guantánamo's detention facility, he largely shares Bush's views about the deference owed a president. The latest case could further clarify this wartime balance of power.

``It's really important that the Supreme Court step in now,'' said Elizabeth Goitein, the director of the Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty and National Security Project. ``This is an issue that's likely to keep arising.''

Chinese captives at Guantanamo remain in limbo

A federal appeals court seemed reluctant on Monday to release 17 Turkic Muslims being held without charges at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, questioning whether judges rather than a president can order their freedom into the United States.

In a showdown over presidential power, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said a judge might have gone too far last month in ordering the U.S. entry of the 17 men, known as Uighurs (WEE-gurz). The three judges suggested the detainees might need to formally apply via the Homeland Security Department, which administers U.S. immigration laws.

Such a move would effectively push the issue of the detainees' release over to the administration of President-elect Barack Obama, who has indicated he wants to shut down the military prison and release prisoners who have not been charged.

Court balks at early release of 17 Uighurs at Gitmo

A federal appeals court seemed reluctant on Monday to release 17 Turkic Muslims being held without charges at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, questioning whether judges rather than a president can order their freedom into the United States.

In a showdown over presidential power, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said a judge might have gone too far last month in ordering the U.S. entry of the 17 men, known as Uighurs. The three judges suggested the detainees might need to formally apply via the Homeland Security Department, which administers U.S. immigration laws.

Such a move would effectively push the issue of the detainees' release over to the administration of President-elect Barack Obama, who has indicated he wants to shut down the military prison and release prisoners who have not been charged.