China demands US hand over released Uighurs

BEIJING (Agencies) China on Tuesday asked United States to repatriate Chinese Muslims captured in Afghanistan and held by American military at Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba and earlier released by a US federal judge on Tuesday.

Three Uighurs are among 17 being held in the US navy prison and are up for release after having been cleared of terrorist suspicions.

But the US does not want to repatriate the Chinese Muslims for fear they might held as prisoners by Beijing.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang said the Chinese Uighurs were suspected to be part of terrorist groups such as ETIM which had been included in the UN Security Council's list of terrorist organisations and should be handed over to China to deal with in accordance with the law.

"China has repeatedly demanded the United States to repatriate the Chinese terrorists being held in Guantanamo Bay. We hope the US side can look seriously at China's position and repatriate the above-mentioned people as soon as possible."

Qin added terrorism is a common threat to the whole world and it's the responsibility of all countries to strike out terrorism. "Double standards must not be adopted in this regard."

Earlier, a US federal judge on Tuesday ordered the release into the United States of a group of Chinese Muslims once suspected of terrorism who are being held in Guantanamo Bay prison, a court official told AFP.

The US government declared the group of 17 Uighurs to no longer be "enemy combatants" this year but had maintained it could continue to hold them in Guantanamo if no other country accepted them. China has urged the US to repatriate the suspects, but Washington has resisted due to fears the group would be tortured upon return.

 Humans rights groups had also campaigned against their continued detention.