Supreme Court to hear Uighur case

Oct 20, 2009, 16:44 GMT

Washington - The US Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it will hear the appeal of 13 Chinese Muslims seeking their release from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

Also known as Uighurs, they have been held at Guantanamo for years even though the Pentagon has declared they are not enemy combatants and are eligible for release.

The Obama administration has been seeking out third countries who can resettle the detainees as it tries to close the controversial prison on the remote US naval base in Cuba by the end of January.

A federal judge in October 2008 ordered the government to release the Uighurs into the United States if other countries cannot be found, but that decision was later overturned by a higher court.

The United States transferred four of the detainees to Bermuda in June. The small Pacific island nation of Palau has also expressed a willingness to take some of the other detainees.

Washington refuses to send the Uighurs back to China over concerns they will be abused. The Supreme Court will hear the case next year.