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Spain ready to receive two Guantanamo prisoners: FM

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-12 11:23
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MADRID: Spain is now ready to receive two prisoners from the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said on Monday.

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Efforts have been made by the Spanish government to ensure a smooth transfer of the prisoners, said Moratinos. He did not mention their nationalities.

The minister said Spain was willing to assist US President Barack Obama in his efforts to close this jail of "moral and ethical anachronism."

Starting to operate as a prison in 2002, Guantanamo has been widely criticized for human rights abuses against prisoners held under terrorist allegations but without a trial.

Prisoner transfer is part of the drive to shut down the jail set up by Obama's predecessor George W. Bush.

When Obama took office in 2009, he announced the prison would be closed on January 22, 2010. However, the goal seems unrealistic so far, as around 200 inmates are yet to be expatriated.
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