Demand justice for the Uyghur Three!

Background

Ayub Mohammed, Salahidin Abdulahad, and Khalil Mamut are three Uyghur men who left China after childhoods of discrimination, persecution, and hopelessness. They were sold by Pakistani bounty hunters to the US military and in 2001 and taken with nineteen other Uyghurs to Guantanamo Bay due to unsubstantiated claims that they were part of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).

There, they suffered four to seven years of detention in the squalor of the world's most notorious prison. Despite being found as not “enemy combatants” as early as 2003, they were kept in Guantanamo for years.

Now in forced exile - Ayub in Albania, and Salahidin and Khalil in Bermuda - their families are here in Canada; and their kids growing up without their fathers. Despite posing no threat to Canadian national security, these men have been waiting over five years to reunite with their families and find a safe place to live.

The Guantanamo Uyghurs

22 Uyghur detainees were taken from Afghanistan in 2001 and transferred to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. These men were held for up to 12 years before being released. Their stories are detailed in the documentary film: Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd.

Chinese government officials have consistently claimed that the Uyghur men are terrorists, despite the U.S. clearing these men of enemy combatant status. Their relocation was greatly delayed partially due to lobbying by the Chinese government for other countries to close their borders to the freed detainees.

Justice delayed is justice denied!

Join us in demanding that IRCC and Minister Marco Mendicino suspend inadmissibility proceedings against Ayub, Salahidin, and Khalil and grant them permanent residence status to reunite with their families!

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For more information:

Documentary

Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd

Media

Toronto Star “They were wrongfully detained at Guantanamo for years. Now they want to join their families in Canada”

Toronto Star “Her husband was cleared of wrongdoing at Guantanamo Bay. Now, as she fights to bring him to Canada, her health is faltering”

Twitter

Justice For The Uyghur Three (@uyghurthree)

Campaign Website

Separated Uyghur-Canadian Families: Canada Must Bring Them Home, Downtown Legal Services