Judge orders Guantanamo releases

But after U.S. bombing raids hit their camps, they fled to Pakistan, where they were taken into custody by locals, who turned them over to U.S. troops offering $5,000 bounties for suspected foreign fighters. The U.S. military alleged that the Uighurs had received military training, and they were suspected of ties to the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, which the State Department had designated a terrorist group.

But the Uighurs strongly denied any ties to the Taliban, Al Qaeda or other enemies of the United States; their only enemy, they said, was the government of China. They said they had initially welcomed being in U.S. custody, hoping they would be safe and treated humanely.

Instead, 22 Uighurs were imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay in 2002. Five were released and sent to Albania two years ago, but the rest remained in custody because no country was willing to accept them. Lawyers spent years in court arguing for their release.

"The U.S. government has long recognized these men did not pose, and really never posed, a threat to the United States," said Jennifer Daskal, a lawyer for Human Rights Watch. Tuesday's ruling was significant, she said, because a judge "rejected the Bush administration's theory that its own determination can trump judicial review and constitutional rights."

Neil McGaraghan, a Boston lawyer who worked on the Uighurs' case, said the men would be released from military custody Friday, barring a last-minute order from the appellate court.

Since 2002, the Pentagon has approved the release of more than 500 prisoners from Guantanamo, including the five Uighurs sent to Albania. More than 250 are still being held, including about 60 who would be freed if the U.S. government could find countries willing to take them.

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david.savage@latimes.com