The lawyer for four Uighur refugees stateless and stranded in Bermuda, has written an emotive letter asking new Premier Craig Cannonier to help them.According to Richard Horseman, the men “remain in limbo, stuck in the Bermuda Triangle” almost four years after they were released from detention at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.He told the Premier they are all fathers now and have been “left to fend for themselves” .He urged Mr Cannonier to pass legislation to “right this wrong” and give them Bermuda citizenship and a secure future.Muslims Ablikim Turahun, Khalil Mamut, Abdulla Abdulqadir and Salahidin Andulahad were detained by US forces in Afghanistan after fleeing their homeland of Chinese Turkestan due to persecution by the Chinese authorities.They were taken to the US prison camp at Guantánamo Bay on suspicion of being terrorists — which they always denied.After seven years locked up there, they were finally released by the US long after it had been determined that they were not enemy combatants.They were flown to Bermuda in 2009 and given sanctuary after then Premier Ewart Brown struck a secret deal with the US without consulting the British Government.The UK has insisted ever since that the men have no entitlement to British nationality, including British citizenship or British Overseas Territories citizenship, and are not eligible to apply for British passports.It has also said that in order for them to gain refugee status, the Bermuda Government would have to ask the UK to extend the 1951 Refugee Convention to the Island. The Uighurs, from Turkestan, can live and work in Bermuda in the meantime — but they have struggled to find employment.In a statement issued last night with former Immigration Minister David Burch [see related story], Dr Brown said the men were lucky recipients of a “heartfelt humanitarian act” and denied that they were ever guaranteed Bermuda status.In his letter to Mr Cannonier, dated January 19 and copied to this newspaper, Mr Horseman wrote: “When they were first taken out of their prison cells in Guantánamo Bay and advised that they were going to be transferred to Bermuda, the men were assured that they would be free men. They were told that if they got on the plane waiting on the tarmac to take them to Bermuda, after one year in Bermuda, they would obtain citizenship and have passports. That never came to pass.“When that didn’t happen, Dr Ewart Brown assured the men, that once he vacated his office, they would be fine and they would then receive passports. That didn’t happen.”Mr Horseman continued: “The Uighurs were airlifted to Bermuda under the cover of darkness, riding on a wing of promises that could never be kept. Indeed it was [former Immigration Minister Lt] Colonel [David] Burch himself who travelled to Cuba and met the Uighurs in Guantánamo Bay. The Colonel reassured the men that they would be free and everything would work out. Relying on these assurances Abdulla, Ablikim, Khalil and Salahidin made a leap of faith and boarded the plane to Bermuda.“Only Abdullah had ever heard of the word ‘Bermuda’ before. He had heard of the Triangle and only knew it as place where people disappear. The men, desperate to marry, each found love and marriage and something they deeply needed, a family. Each of the men now either has a child or is expecting a child. They are grateful for having been granted the opportunity to be wed and have children.”Urging Mr Cannonier to take action, he said: “Premier, after nearly four years, the men remain in limbo. They are stuck in the Bermuda Triangle. The authors of their misfortune have now vanished into thin air. The men are left to fend for themselves.“Premier, the time has now come to right this wrong. I believe that the appropriate solution is for the Bermuda Government to pass legislation that will grant the Uighurs, their spouses and children Bermuda status. I believe that we can work together now with Great Britain and solve this crisis. There are children’s lives at stake and we owe it to these men not to tuck them away in some corner and hope it all goes away; hope that they will be lost in the Triangle.“Premier, it will take bold action and cooperation with the United Kingdom with a new pledge to honour our commitments under our Constitution in order to forge a solution to this humanitarian crisis.”Mr Horseman said the men have been treated well by Bermudians since they arrived, but long for freedom.“The people of Bermuda have showed the Uighurs compassion, respect and offers of help have come from all corners of our Country and from all walks of life. Bermuda once again has demonstrated that we have some of the most benevolent caring citizens of any country. The men wish to convey their gratitude to the people of Bermuda. They have been welcomed into Bermuda and they know how good the Bermudian people are. They ask God to bless all of Bermuda and its people,” said the lawyer.“Premier, we are asking you to lead the way and take the necessary steps to grant the Uighurs Bermuda status. This of course cannot likely be achieved without the support and cooperation of the United Kingdom, but we have to try. I believe that this newly elected Government can seize the initiative and fulfil the broken promises made to the Uighurs and give them what they were promised, true freedom.”The Royal Gazette invited Mr Cannonier and Government House to respond to the letter. A Government House spokesman declined to comment, as did Mr Cannonier.