Free at last: In this exclusive photo, the Uighurs are seen arriving at Bermuda International airport.
Free at last: In this exclusive photo, the Uighurs are seen arriving at Bermuda International airport.
The four freed Guantanamo prisoners spent their first few days of freedom in much the same fashion as they spent their time in captivity - facing a barrage of questions from interrogators.
The quartet have conducted a series of interviews with reporters from across the globe over the past few days.
James Whittaker was among the press pack. Here he details the key questions put to the Uighurs and how they answered them....

Are they terrorists? Do they have any links with Al Qaeda?
The group was asked outright if they were members of Al Quada and had they ever met Osama Bin Laden? They flatly denied this, saying the first they heard of either was from their American interrogators at Gunatanamo.
Speaking in English, Khalil Manut said: "I am not a terrorist, I have never been a terrorist and I never will be a terrorist."
They say they have no hard feelings towards the U.S., despite spending seven years in an American-run jail, and they insist they never had any quarrel with the U.S. Their only argument is with China.

So were they a threat to China? Were they, as has been alleged, part of a terrorist group fighting for independence for the Xianjang region (they know it as Turkistan) in north west China?
They claim to have nothing whatsoever to do with any political or terrorist group. Specifically addressing the accusation that they were part of the East Turkestan Islamic movement, Salahidin Abdulahat said: "We have no affiliation, nothing to do with any kind of political organization.
"The organisation you mention, we never even heard about that. We have heard about that first from the Americans." They say the American interrogators initially accused them of being members of ETIM but ultimately concluded that they were not.

Why then, can't they go back to China? The Chinese still believe the Uighur detainees in Guantanamo are terrorists. The U.S. has refused to release them into Chinese custody amid fears that they would face further persecution.
The four Uighurs have no love for the Chinese Government, who they say suppressed their religious freedom, restricted their civil rights and forced them out of their homeland.
Mr. Abdulahat told us they were not confrontational people but could not accept the abuse they received in China so decided to leave. "We are the people who faced their suppression. We are the people who lived under the communist dictatorship government, we are the victims.
"We only try to get away from that suppression - it is very interesting that they are turning round and calling us terrorists."

So what were they doing in Afghanistan in 2001?
They say they are simply refugees who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Many Uighurs who are unable to get visas to go to Europe or the U.S., wind up in countries close to China. But with China applying pressure on these countries, Afghanistan became the only country they could go to without visas or paperwork.
"It's really difficult to live under the suppression of the Communist dictatorship, therefore we left our homeland, left our country and tried to go some place that we can live a free life like everyone else," Mr. Manut said.

What about the allegations that they were staying at a terrorist training camp and received some weapons instruction?
They don't deny that they had access to guns, but they insist the place they were staying was a simple village of refugees and not a military training camp.
Mr Abdulahat said: "The place we stayed just had some abandoned houses - nobody else but us. We tried to fix that place up so it was liveable. Afghanistan is a place that everybody has guns and we hear that many people have many guns, but we didn't even have that much weapons.
"Maybe there was a gun or two and if you are curious you take a look at it, pull it apart, you call that military training? "This place, if you just go and take a look at it you will see it is not any kind of training camp."

So how did they end up in U.S. custody?
The Uighurs were among a group that fled Afghanistan into neighbouring Pakistan when the U.S. invaded.
They were captured in Pakistan and sold to the U.S. for a bounty - understood to be $10,000-a-head. They were transferred to Guantanamo in the summer of 2002.

Were they mistreated at Guantanamo?
The Uighurs say the hardest time in Guantanamo was when they were housed in Camp Six - a Supermax style facility, where the bulk of their time was spent in solitary confinement or under interrogation.
After that they were transferred to a lower security camp and their conditions improved.
They say they were 'harshly treated' by the Chinese interrogators that visited the camp in 2002.
Mr Abdulahat said the Chinese made threats against his family and interrogated him for 18 hours without a proper break.
The final years of their imprisonment, once they had been cleared of being 'enemy combatants' against the U.S., were spent in relative luxury at Camp Iguana, where they were able to watch TV and eat pizza. Their attitude towards the U.S. was surprisingly forgiving after seven years of wrongful imprisonment.
"It's a prison and there are difficulties that we have faced but it is all in the past. We don't want to talk about it, we don't want to turn back we want to forget about everything and move on. The future is beautiful," Abdulla Abdulqadir said.

If they are innocent, why weren't they released earlier?
Ablikim Turahun, Abdullah Abdulqadir and Salahidin Abdulahat were cleared for release in 2003, Mr. Memut in 2005.
Four of their countrymen were offered new homes in Albania in 2006 but the U.S. has been unable to find any other country willing to take the rest of the Uighurs. A further 13 are still in legal limbo at Guantanamo, with Palau mentioned as a possible destination.

How do they feel about Bermuda?
The quartet are understandably delighted that Bermuda has offered them a new home.
Mr. Abdulqadir said: "This place was the one and only country to open their arms to us and give us the opportunity to be free. This country showed the courage to accept us and we never want to leave. We want to stay here and live peaceful, prosperous lives."
They say they knew nothing of Bermuda until a few days before they arrived here but had found it to be the most beautiful place they had ever seen.
They were equally impressed with the reception they received on the streets and say the happiest moments of their freedom have been when Bermudian people have shook their hands and welcomed them to the country.

What's their take on the political turmoil their arrival has caused?
They feel bad that the Government has suffered because it helped them and hope that it blows over. "We wish that didn't happen but hopefully it will resolve and people will be open to us. Hopefully in the future they will get to know us and see that was not necessary."

How do they see their lives in Bermuda?
They hope to stay here for good, to make friends and raise families here. Mr. Abdulahat said: "Our language skills is our biggest difficulty but we are willing to work hard, we are healthy, we are willing to do anything."
Some reports have suggested that the Government has already had job offers for them from local companies and they are most likely to be employed initially in manual labouring jobs. Long-term they hope to open their own restauraunt specializing in Uighur food.

What are they doing right now?
The four are staying in a guest house in Hamilton Parish and are being assisted by a retired major Glenn 'Q' Brangman, who is acting as their liaison officer as they acclimatize to life in Bermuda.
Aside from conducting a slew of interviews and satisfying the demands of documentary filmmakers, they have spent their first few days here like regular tourists. Former tour guide Earl Robinson is showing them around.
On Sunday they enjoyed lunch at the Tavern by the Sea and an ice-cream as they made their way around St George's. They've visited Dockyard, taken in the South Shore and toured Hamilton.