The U.S. Supreme Court has turned down an appeal from the five remaining Chinese Muslims being held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison.
The court on Monday rejected the appeal from the Uighurs, who wanted the court to consider whether a judge can order Guantanamo detainees released into the United States.
The Uighurs have been held at Guantanamo for nearly nine years. They were cleared for release years ago, but have turned down offers to be resettled in the tiny Pacific nation of Palau and another unidentified country.
Beijing has demanded the men be returned to China, saying they are members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which the United Nations has listed as a terrorist group. The United States has refused to send them back to China or grant them U.S. refugee status.
Other Uighurs who had been held at Guantanamo have been resettled in Albania, Bermuda, Palau and Switzerland.