Three Uyghur Guantanamo detainees headed to Slovakia
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 31 December 2013 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Three Uyghur Guantanamo detainees headed to Slovakia, 31 December 2013, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/52e65aa214.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
December 31, 2013
Activists wearing orange jumpsuits mark the 100th day of a prisoners' hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay during a protest in May in front of the White House in Washington, D.C.
The United States has announced the last three Uyghur detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba will be released and sent to Slovakia.
Slovakia's Interior Ministry confirmed the transfer of the Uyghurs, a Muslim ethnic group whose traditional homeland is the Xinjiang region of western China.
The ministry said the three Uyghurs were people "who have not been...accused of the crime of terrorism."
Slovakia has already accepted three detainees from Guantanamo – an Egyptian, an Algerian, and a Tunisian.
U.S. President Barack Obama promised to close down the Guantanamo facility when he took office in 2009.
Guantanamo has been used to hold terrorist suspects captured overseas, and there are still some 150 prisoners being held there.
The three Uyghurs were caught in Afghanistan in 2001.
Based on reporting by CTK and Reuters
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
