WASHINGTON - A divided federal appeals court on Monday refused to allow the immediate release into the U.S. of 17 Turkic Muslims being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, agreeing to keep them in prison for at least several more weeks.
In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sided with the Bush administration in halting the Muslims' release while the government prepares its full appeal. Lawyers for the detainees, a group of Muslims from China known as Uighurs (pronounced WEE'gurz), had asked that they be freed into the U.S. pending the time-consuming appeal.