WORLD> America
Chinese Guanta detainees to remain in prison
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-21 08:05

A US appeals court has overturned a ruling that would have transferred 17 Guantanamo Bay detainees to the US.

The men are ethnic Uygurs from Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. They have been cleared for release from Guantanamo, but the United States refuses to send them home to China. So they remain in prison while the US figures out what to do with them.

A federal judge ruled in October that the men should be transferred to US soil because they were no longer enemy combatants and the government did not have the authority to hold them.

The appeals court ruled on Wednesday that only immigration officials, not a judge, can bring foreigners into the US.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Jiang Yu told Regular Press Conference on Thursday that China opposes any countries accepting them and these detainees must be handed over to China and brought to justice.