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US/Palau - Guantanamo

Palau to take Guantanamo prisoners

Article published on the 2009-06-10 Latest update 2009-06-10 07:22 TU

The prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba was set up in 2002(Photo : AFP)

The prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba was set up in 2002
(Photo : AFP)

The Pacific island of Palau has agreed to a US request to temporarily resettle up to 17 Guantanamo Bay detainees. The 17 men are Chinese Uighurs and have continued to be held at the US detention centre in Cuba despite being cleared by US authorities four years ago.

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This is because of fears for their safety if they were returned to their homeland in China’s Xinjiang region.

Palau President Johnson Toribiong said the decision was "a humanitarian gesture intended to help them be freed from any further unnecessary incarceration and to restart their lives anew in as normal fashion as possible."

"These detainees have been approved for release from incarceration because a final determination has been made that they are no longer considered enemy combatants," he said.

Palau has a population of about 21,000 and was under US administration before becoming independent in 1994. It gives formal diplomatic recognition to Taiwan rather than China.

The news will come as a boost to US President Barack Obama, who hopes to close Guantanamo Bay by early next year.