Washington - A federal judge on Tuesday, in a rebuke to the Bush administration, ordered the release in the United States of 17 Chinese Muslims who have been held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

    U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina read his ruling from the bench at a hearing to consider the appeals by the members of the Uighur ethnic group who are seeking freedom and asking to come to the United States.

    The judge said there was no evidence the detainees, who have been held at Guantanamo for nearly seven years, were "enemy combatants" or a security risk, and that the U.S. Constitution prohibits indefinite detention without cause.

    He ordered them brought to his courtroom for a hearing on Friday and scheduled another hearing for Thursday of next week.

    The ruling was a setback for the administration, which argued that federal judges do not have the authority to order the release into the United States of the detainees.

    It was unclear how soon the prisoners might be released in the United States and whether their release would be delayed by Justice Department appeals.

    Attorneys for the prisoners said the landmark ruling was the first time a federal court had ever ordered the release into the United States of any Guantanamo prisoners.

    The Uighurs had been living in a camp in Afghanistan during the U.S.-led bombing campaign that began in October 2001. They fled into the mountains and were detained by Pakistani authorities, who handed them over to the United States.

    They remain in the prison even though the U.S. military no longer considers them "enemy combatants." The United States has been unable to find a country willing to accept them.

    In 2006, the United States allowed five Chinese Muslims released from Guantanamo to seek asylum in Albania. The U.S. government has said it cannot return the Uighurs to China because they would face persecution there.

    Relentless Campaign

    Many Muslim Uighurs, who are from Xinjiang in far western China, seek greater autonomy for the region and some want independence. Beijing has waged a relentless campaign against what it calls their violent separatist activities.

    There are about 265 detainees at Guantanamo, which was set up in January of 2002 to hold terrorism suspects captured after the September 11 attacks. Most have been held for years without being charged and many have complained of abuse.

    "We are thrilled," said Sabin Willett, an attorney for some of the prisoners. "Justice has too long been delayed but today we saw a great judge give a principled and just decision."

    Jennifer Daskal of Human Rights Watch, said, "The government should not drag its feet, but should immediately release these men from their unlawful confinement at Guantanamo."

    The Justice Department said it was working on a statement.

    Lawyers for the Uighurs said they will likely settle in Tallahassee, Florida, and the Washington, D.C., area, where religious and community leaders have offered to support them by providing housing and work.

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    Additional reporting by Jane Sutton in Miami. Editing by David Alexander and Alan Elsner.