Washington: A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked a judges decision to immediately free 17 Chinese Muslims at Guantanamo Bay into the US.

In a one-page order yesterday, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit issued the emergency stay at the request of the Bush administration. The three-judge panel said it would postpone release of the detainees for at least another week to give the government more time to make arguments in the case.

The appeals court set a deadline of next Thursday for additional filings but it is up to the judges to decide how quickly to act afterward.

"The decision is quite a blow," said Emi MacLean, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is representing many of the detainees. "We basically have to go to the men after telling them they would be released, and say that their detention is once again indefinite."

"It's hard to believe there is any sense of justice in a situation like that," she said. "We will continue to argue strongly that the judge s order is meritorious and continues to stand."

The three-judge appeals panel that halted the detainees release included Judges Karen Henderson and A Raymond Randolph, both appointees of the first President Bush, and Judge Judith W Rogers, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton.

The appeals courts move comes after US District Judge Ricardo M Urbina made a dramatic decision on Tuesday ordering the government to free the detainees by Friday. Urbina said it would be wrong for the Bush administration to continue holding the detainees, known as Uighurs, since they are no longer considered enemy combatants.

"We are pleased that the Court of Appeals granted our request for a temporary stay, and we look forward to presenting our case," Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said in response to the appeals court decision.
Source : PTI