Audio of Rebiya Kadeer talk
Tue, 02/24/2009 - 8:48am
Audio of talk by Uighur democracy leader Rebiya Kadeer, Feb 23, 2009, American University.
Rebiya Kadeer, Mother of the Uyghur People, introduces the Uyghur community
February 23, 2009 at 7:00pm
American University Ward Hall (Ward 1, T Floor, Room 1)
Rebiya Kadeer is universally recognized as the most prominent Uyghur leader and the "Mother of the Uyghur People."
Witness Against Torture’s 100 Days Campaign to Close Guantanamo and End Torture has invited Rebiya Kadeer to discuss the situation of the Uyghur people in China and to introduce DC to the thriving Uyghur community in its midst. The event is co-sponsored by the American University chapter of Amnesty International.
The 17 Uyghur prisoners at Guantanamo belong to a persecuted Muslim ethnic minority in China. Ordered released into the U.S. by District Court Judge Urbina in October, 2008, they remain imprisoned because the Bush administration appealed his decision. The vibrant DC Uyghur community, led by Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, was ready to open their homes to these men and work with refugee agencies to settle them here.
For more details, click here
CITIZENS URGE NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER & PRESIDENT OBAMA TO RELEASE 17 UIGHUR GUANTANAMO PRISONERS INTO THE US: PROCESSION TO JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TODAY
Tue, 02/03/2009 - 9:04am
Washington, DC--February 3, 2009--Key human rights groups are urging President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to take a simple step that will right a seven-year wrong: they want him to lift the Bush administration’s appeal of Judge Ricardo Urbina’s order to release the 17 Uighurs imprisoned in Guantanamo. This act would let stand Judge Urbina’s order to bring the men into the United States immediately. Part of a Muslim ethnic minority in China, the Uighurs would likely face persecution by the Chinese government if returned to China.
Democracy Now!: Long Cleared of Terrorism Charges, Uyghurs Languish in Gitmo Prison and Albanian Exile
Fri, 01/30/2009 - 2:48pm
Democracy Now! had a good report on the Uighur situation today.
Uyghur prisoners at Guantanamo have long been determined to be not guilty of terrorism. But seventeen of these ethnic Muslim Chinese are still imprisoned at Guantanamo after almost eight years. Five were forcibly resettled in Albania, isolated and away from their families. We speak with their lawyer, Sabin Willett, and PBS FRONTLINE reporter Alexandra Poolos, who has followed their story for a new report.
Day 9 of 100: Free the Uighurs
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 5:03pm
This week we’re focusing on the release of the Uighur detainees at Guantanamo. This sub-campaign has some interesting challenges, like answering everyone’s initial question: “Free who?”
Amnesty International calls for release of Uighur detainees
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 12:20am
January 26: Amnesty International reiterates its call for the Uighur detainees at Guantanamo to be released.
Amnesty International believes that the new administration must play its part in what it will be asking other countries to do – to take released detainees – and that for it to do so could only encourage a positive response from other governments in this regard. The US administration should start by dropping the government’s appeal against Judge Urbina’s order and releasing the Uighurs into the USA. Amnesty International can see no reason for the cases of the Uighurs to be included in the review ordered by President Obama. There is no reason that their release into the USA should be delayed any longer.
Letter about Uighurs from attorney Sabin Willett to Secretary of Defense Gates and Attorney General-designate Holder
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 5:08pm
From: Sabin Willett
January 23, 2009
Eric H. Holder, Jr., Esq., Attorney General-designate
Mark R. Filip, Esq., Acting Attorney General
The Honorable Robert M. Gates
Secretary of Defense
Re: Uighur detainees at Guantanamo Bay
Gentlemen:
My colleagues copied below and I are counsel to seventeen Uighur prisoners now in their seventh year of incarceration at the Guantanamo prison. We are relieved to see President Obama’s issuance of the Executive Order titled “Review and Disposition of Individuals Detained at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base and Closure of Detention Facilities,” dated January 22, 2009 (the “Order”).
Day 6: Vigil for the Uighurs
Mon, 01/26/2009 - 5:41pm
Today there was a vigil at the White House, asking Obama to free the 17 innocent Uighur prisoners at Guantanamo immediately. A federal court has already ruled they should be freed.
A number of people called the White House. Mike shows you how:
See also: Conservatives Call on Bush to Free Uighurs.
Thank you for helping free the Uighurs
Sun, 01/25/2009 - 7:35pm
Update June 10, 2009: Palau Agrees to Take the Uighurs
We're leaving the rest of this page unchanged for our archives.
April 24: Los Angeles Times and other news outlets report as many as 7 Uighurs will be released into US.
April 1, New York Times: Chinese Inmates at Guantánamo Pose a Dilemma
Uighur attorney Sabin Willett on Democracy Now
Frontline (PBS) video on Uighurs at Guantanamo
Call President Obama and tell him:
