A US appeals court has temporarily blocked the release of 17 Chinese Muslim Uighurs from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp as President George W. Bush's administration scrambles to appeal it.
Under a lower court order, the men were to be brought to Washington as soon as Friday, but a three-judge panel at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia halted the process "pending further order of the court."
"The purpose of this administrative stay is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the merits of the motion for stay pending appeal and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion," read an order issued Wednesday.
A US federal judge Tuesday had ordered the group to be released in the United States in a major blow to the US administration, which swiftly said it planned to appeal the decision.
Judge Ricardo Urbina ordered the 17 men, held at Guantanamo for nearly seven years, be brought before him in Washington on Friday to be introduced to some Uighur families who would take them in.
It was the first time a court had ordered that "war on terror" prisoners detained at the US base should be released onto US soil.
The 17 were officially declared no longer "enemy combatants" by the government in June, and the US government approved their release back in 2004.
But officials had maintained they could continue to hold the men at Guantanamo Bay if no other country accepted them.
The Uighurs were not returned to China due to credible fears they would be tortured upon return.
The White House condemned Tuesday's ruling, saying it paved the way for extremists to demand the same freedom, and added it would continue to work to find another country to take in the men.
"The district court's ruling, if allowed to stand, could be used as precedent for other detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, including sworn enemies of the United States suspected of planning the attacks of 9/11, who may also seek release into our country," spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
The Justice Department sought an emergency stay of the decision, arguing the ruling presented "serious national security and separation of powers concerns and raises unprecedented legal issues."
"In response to today's ruling, we are filing an emergency motion for stay pending appeal tonight with the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit," the Department said in a statement Tuesday.
