Four Chinese Muslim detainees who had been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility have been resettled in Bermuda.

Premier Dr. Ewart Brown made the announcement this morning at a press conference and stressed that the men were innocent.

The four men —aged 25 to 35— are Chinese Muslims called Uighurs and arrived by air last night. They will be given the opportunity to get Bermudian status.

Dr. Brown said: “These men are landed in Bermuda in the short term provided with the opportunity to become naturalised citizens and therefore afforded the right to travel and leave Bermuda potentially settling elsewhere.”

Today one of the men, Abdul Nasser, issued a statement through his lawyers, saying: “Growing up under communism we always dreamed of living in peace and working in a free society like this one. Today you have let freedom ring.”

However this morning it emerged the decision had been taken without the permission of Government House.

Governor Sir Richard Gozney said: “Yes it was done without permission and the Government of Bermuda should have consulted with us because it carries with it foreign policy ground areas and security issues.

“We will now need to assess these four individuals. We were only told this morning.

“We are working with the Government of Bermuda to address these issues. There are two parts to it – the assessing of the individuals and the other is assessing the implications.

“I am not going to pass judgement on it. We are talking to the Premier.”

He said that was all he could comment on and referred The Royal Gazette to the Foreign Commonwealth Office.

The Obama administration has been under pressure to resettle the detainees, as it tries to fulfill its promise to close the controversial prison for foreign terrorism suspects on the U.S. naval base in Cuba.

The U.S. government had determined that the Chinese Muslims at Guantanamo weren't enemy combatants and should be released. But China resisted their release and it had been unclear where they would go free.

Thirteen other Uighurs remain to be freed from Guantanamo.

Today's announcement comes one day after the tropical Pacific Island nation of Palau agreed to temporarily take in 17 of the Uighur detainees, which the U.S. government worries may face persecution if they are returned to China. According to the Washington Post, the U.S. recently agreed to give Palau $117m in aid.

Dr. Brown said the decision to give the men asylum began during talks in Washington DC last month.

Minister of Home Affairs David Burch told the media that the men were cleared of terrorism allegations in a US court and sat in the prison as innocent men.

“We are people who care and are people who help others and certainly in this case that is practically what we are doing,” he said.

Asked about their mental state, Senator Burch said: “Their mental state appears to be quite fine.” He said they talked the whole flight to Bermuda excited about coming to the Island."

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a written statement: “By helping accomplish the President's objective of closing Guantanamo, the transfer of these detainees will make America safer. We are extremely grateful to the Government of Bermuda for its assistance in the successful resettlement of these four detainees, and we commend the leadership they have demonstrated on this important issue.”

U.S. officials did not say what restrictions, if any, would be placed on the Uighurs as they are resettled in Bermuda.

“We will consult regularly with the Government of Bermuda on the status of these individuals,” said Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd.

One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorised to discuss negotiations between the U.S and Bermuda, said the four would not be allowed to travel to the United States without prior approval from American authorities.

Uighurs are from Xinjiang, an isolated region that borders Afghanistan, Pakistan and six Central Asian nations. They say they have been repressed by the Chinese government. China long has said that insurgents are leading an Islamic separatist movement in Xinjiang.

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