US Offers $200M to Send Gitmo Inmates to South Pacific

(AP) - The Supreme Court will hear a new case about the rights of Guantanamo detainees, this time involving prisoners who remain in custody even after the Pentagon determines they're not a threat to the United States, the court said today. Last year, the court said in a 5-4 ruling that federal judges could ultimately order some detainees to be released, depending on security concerns and other circumstances. More»

(NEWSER) - Palau’s president Johnson Toribiong today said five of the 13 Uighurs held at Guantanamo Bay and set to be resettled in his country don't want to go, AFP reports. “A handful may not come,” he said. A recent delegation from the country to Gitmo met with just eight of the Chinese Muslims, who were cleared of wrongdoing four years ago. The other five refused interviews. More»

Beijing opposes sending other Muslim inmates to Palau

(NEWSER) - Four Chinese Muslims inmates from Guantanamo have been released in Bermuda in the first successful US resettlement of Uighurs since 2006, the AP reports. The disposition of 13 others is unclear, according to the Miami Herald, but Palau has offered to accept them, a move China opposes. Beijing has called them “terrorist suspects” and demanded their return. Palau’s president classifies them as “international vagabonds” who deserve a fresh start. More»

Island nation's move resolves key camp-closing concern

(AP) - Palau agreed to accept 17 Chinese Muslims who have languished in legal limbo at Guantanamo Bay, indicating a resolution to one of the thorniest issues facing the Obama administration's decision to close the prison camp. The announcement, which would clear the last of the Uighurs from the camp, was a major step toward finding new homes for detainees who have been cleared of wrongdoing but cannot go home for fear of ill-treatment. More»

Move an admission that detention center is here to stay

(NEWSER) - President Obama has given Robert Gates the go-ahead to initiate new military commissions against Guantanamo detainees—something Obama originally banned on the first day of his presidency. Within weeks one or more detainees may face new charges—the Justice Department has already designated some prisoners for military tribunal, including suspected US Cole attack mastermind Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the New York Times reports. More»