Religion Roundup
Chinese Muslims Issue Plea for Release from Guantanamo
Associated Press
March 20, 2008
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - In a rare direct appeal from Guantanamo Bay, a prisoner from western China says the U.S. is holding him and other Chinese Muslims in harsh conditions, even though authorities told them years ago they're innocent and would be released.
The prisoner complains in a letter that he and the other Uighurs were told in 2004 and 2005 that they would be let go, yet they languish in windowless, cramped cells.
The men, who say they fled China to escape persecution, have been in captivity for six years.
American officials have acknowledged the Chinese Muslims cannot be sent back to their homeland because they're likely to face persecution, but diplomatic efforts to place them in other countries have stalled.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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