The United States is unsuccessfully trying to find a third country willing to take several Uighur “terror suspects” who are expected to be released from Guantanamo Bay, fearing that they will be persecuted or executed if they return to China, the Financial Times reports. Germany, Switzerland, Finland and Norway have refused to accept the refugees, and the UNHCR is also hesitating to get involved. The U.S. government determined that the suspects did not have “intelligence value.”
Human rights groups have expressed concern over treatment of the Uighur minority in China, who the government has linked to a global terror network.
Al Jazeera also has a profile of Islam in China, Centuries-old ties that bind China’s Muslims, on the English version of their website.
UPDATE: The Chinese government has called on the US to handle the detainees in an “appropriate” way: “Given that East Turkistan terrorist forces pose a great threat to the security and people’s lives in many countries, Zhang urged the United States to handle the issue prudently, without hurting Sino-US ties and anti-terrorism collaboration around the world. ” The Xinhua report is here.
