Originally published by Royal Gazette,11 June 2010

The UK remains adamant that Bermuda’s four Uighurs have no entitlement to British nationality — a year after their arrival on the Island.

Governor Sir Richard Gozney told The Royal Gazette this week that talks continued between Britain and the US about former Guantánamo Bay prisoners Khalil Mamut, Ablikim Turahun, Salahidin Abdulahad and Abdulla Abdulqadir.

But he insisted there was nothing in law to allow them to seek British or British Overseas Territories’ citizenship or refugee travel documents.

 The Attorney General has previously said the men can stay here indefinitely with the permission of the Immigration Minister — but without passports or travel documents they would never be able to leave.

Mr. Mamut, 32, said on Wednesday he and his friends wanted to spend the rest of their lives on the Island — but missed relatives in their homeland of Chinese Turkestan.

“We can say nothing about [the legal situation] because we don’t know what’s going on,” he told this newspaper, adding: “I’m optimistic. For us, it’s OK. We spent seven years in a cell. It’s OK for us; we can live even if we can’t travel. We can talk to our families once or twice a week but we hope in the future we can travel and see them and hug them. It takes time. It’s step by step.”

Lawyers for the Guantánamo Four, both here and in the US, are staying silent on any legal challenges they may pursue to get the Uighurs out of their current state of limbo.

The Muslim men were brought here in secret by Premier Ewart Brown on June 11, 2009, after being held for more than seven years at the notorious Guantánamo detention camp, despite twice being cleared as “enemy combatants” by US authorities.

They have since got jobs as groundsmen at Port Royal Golf Course and say they have adapted well to Bermudian culture: living in separate studio apartments, riding motorcycles, attending Masjid Muhammad Mosque and playing football with friends each Sunday.

But Britain’s insistence that Dr. Brown had no power to conduct private negotiations with the US, which were not disclosed to Government House or his Cabinet, remains unaltered — as does its resolve to deny the Uighurs citizenship.

Sir Richard said: “The background on the requirements of citizenship has not changed: the Uighurs have no entitlement to British nationality, whether British citizenship or British Overseas Territories’ citizenship.

“Under the provisions of the British Nationality Act 1981 they are not eligible to apply for British passports.”

He continued: “The 1951 Refugee Convention has not been extended to Bermuda — Bermuda has not sought its extension as far as I am aware — and Bermuda therefore does not provide refugee travel documents under that Convention.

“The UK is a party to the Refugee Convention and complies fully with its obligations but these are about applications for refugee status from people who are in the UK and do not include an obligation to issue refugee travel documents to people in Bermuda.”

Government Senator Walton Brown has said he believes the UK will “ultimately do the right thing” and allow the men the chance to travel and reside in Britain if they so choose.

But Sir Richard said: “The legal position is… clear and does not provide for the sort of flexibility mooted by the Senator.”

Attorney General Kim Wilson confirmed last night that the 1951 Refugee Convention had not been extended to Bermuda and said the men’s eligibility for refugee status was a matter for the British Government.

“In order for them to be eligible to even apply for refugee travel documents, they would first be required to apply from a country which is a party to the Convention or had the said Convention extended to them,” said Sen. Wilson.

“The Uighurs would have to be granted some form of dispensation to travel to the UK so that the application process could be commenced.

“Though I am not familiar with the UK law as it relates to immigration and who is permitted to enter their borders, I would be surprised if they did not have similar provisions as are found in Bermuda legislation, which permits the Government to control the entry of persons into their countries.”

Sen. Brown said: “If the UK did not do it, there is always the possibility or the likelihood that the UN (United Nations) would issue travel documents. The UN has the ability — they can be issued to anyone who is deemed to be stateless.

“In my view, the British Government has an obligation to issue travel documents. They [the Uighurs] should surely not be penalised because the British Government disagrees with what the Premier did.”

Richard Horseman, the Uighurs’ local lawyer, did not wish to comment and their attorneys in the US could not be reached.

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