Uighur Prisoners May Be Held for Life

Seventeen Uighur Muslim detainees will be told next week that they may have to spend the rest of their lives imprisoned at Guantanamo, although they have no charges against them. The US government has made some attempts to have the prisoners resettled into other countries, but have falsely labeled them as terrorists so no other country wants to accept them. The US government will not allow the detainees to enter the US even though there are numerous humanitarian and religious organizations ready and willing to help them transition into America.

Their lawyer, Sabin Willet is flying to Guantanamo this weekend to tell them the dreadful news.
Willet is furious of not only the ruling, but also of the way his clients have been treated over the past several years. The court has stalled and admitted that they are not a threat to the United States; however, they are stilled being held against their will with no charges. The lawyer himself is not even allowed to meet with his clients unless they are chained to the floor. All because the US government claims that the men are connected to a terrorist entity, even though they have no proof of it.

Now in similar case, the presiding judge has ruled that all information regarding the trial is sealed and will not even allow the detainees lawyers to discuss information with their own clients. The judges are taking this measure so the media cannot catch wind of what is or is not revealed during the trials. The detainees will not even be permitted to attend the court, they will simply be notified of the outcome afterward.

One of the detainees lawyers believes that this is all due to a mistake by the government and the government just does not want to fix their mistake because they would first have to admit they were wrong. If this is true, it would just play into the fact that everything is so secretive because the government does not want the media knowing how bad the conditions are. The prosecutors are even being permitted to withhold evidence from the defense lawyers.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/washington/07gitmo.html?ref=us
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/01/guantanamo-china