The Bush administration plans to appeal a federal judge's decision Tuesday to immediately free 17 Chinese Muslims at Guantanamo Bay into the USA.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina said the Uighurs (pronounced WEE'-gurz), who have been jailed nearly seven years at the naval facility in Cuba, must be freed because the U.S. military ruled in 2004 that they are no longer considered enemy combatants.
The Bush administration said the detainees are s dangerous and cannot be released until another country agrees to take them. China calls them terror suspects and has demanded their return, but the U.S. fears the men might be tortured there.
Ruling "the Constitution prohibits indefinite detentions without a cause," Urbina ordered the Uighurs released in Washington by Friday.
Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the administration plans to appeal the order. He said the Uighurs received weapons training in Afghanistan and are a national security risk."