Chinese prisoners in Cuba at grave risk if sent home

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Behind coils of razor wire at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, one group of prisoners held by the U.S. military faces a unique dilemma — if returned to China, human rights groups warn, they could be tortured or killed.

Some 22 ethnic Uighurs, Muslims from China's desert northwest, are at the U.S. prison for terror suspects, Amnesty International said this week.

"They're at grave risk if returned," Alistair Hodgett, a spokesman for the London-based rights group said Friday. "They are highly likely to face, at a minimum, continued detention, and very likely to face torture, ill treatment and possible execution."

Amnesty also accused China of sending a delegation in September 2002 that participated in interrogations in which Uighurs were subjected to threats and "stress and duress" techniques such as sleep deprivation, forced sitting for hours and "environmental manipulation" — which can include extreme heat or cold.

In Beijing, the Chinese government Thursday called the claims "totally groundless."

The U.S. military also denies abuse during interrogations of the 600 prisoners from about 40 countries at its Navy base in Cuba.

"We don't engage in sleep deprivation or physical abuse," said spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Robert Mulac.

Amnesty International said it had confirmed reports that many Uighurs were in a medium-security prison wing reserved for the most "cooperative" detainees deemed not to threaten U.S. interests and most likely to be freed.

Human rights groups say Uighurs, particularly those who advocate independence for their northwest territory of Xinjiang, face repression from Chinese authorities who call them terrorists.

China claims it is fighting an Islamic movement linked to al-Qaida terrorist network, but diplomats say they doubt that. There has been no major separatist violence in recent years, but Hodgett said they have frequent reports of beatings, torture and executions of alleged Uighur separatists.

Hodgett said it is believed the Uighur detainees were captured during the U.S. war in Afghanistan, though their role there remains unclear.

"We're very concerned," said Mickey Spiegel of New York-based Human Rights Watch said of the fate of Uighur detainees. "Any kind of forcible repatriation as far as we're concerned is very much out of the question ... The U.S. has a responsibility to see that these people are not returned to China."

Before a prisoner is returned home, the U.S. State Department makes recommendations and confers with the home government, Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Barbara Burfeind said. Asked whether possible persecution would be a factor, she said "That would probably be something that would be part of those discussions."

The U.S. State Department report on human rights has cited concerns about repression of suspected Uighur separatists in China.

Human rights groups suggest any freed Uighurs be granted asylum in another country, but Spiegel asked which nations would accept people once branded terrorists.

"We see it as a dilemma," she said. "What country is going to be willing to take them?"