Kramer Levin Wins Order Commanding Release of Uighurs Held at Guantanamo

On October 7, 2008, in a historic decision, a federal judge in Washington ordered four Kramer Levin clients — Uighur detainees who have been wrongfully imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay for over 6 years — to be released from Guantanamo. This follows the government’s concession, after years of litigation, that it no longer contends that our clients are “enemy combatants.” During the dramatic hearing in a courtroom packed with Uighur-Americans, the judge ordered the release of our clients and 13 other identically situated Uighur detainees to the United States, and ordered the government to fly all 17 Uighurs to Washington, D.C., on October 10 to be released to members of the Uighur-American community and other humanitarian groups that have agreed to provide housing and resettlement support for all the men. Following the release order, the government sought an emergency stay from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the release order is now temporarily on hold as the Court of Appeals decides whether the men will be released or must remain imprisoned during the pendency of the government's appeal. Congratulations to Eric A. Tirschwell, Seema Saifee, Michael J. Sternhell, Darren LaVerne, Matthew B. Keller and the entire Kramer Levin Uighur team for their years of hard work in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. The decision was also profiled in The AmLaw Litigation Daily.